


Small town in Nebraska

by missafairy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Drinking, Eventual Romance, F/M, Mental Health Issues, References to Depression, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:00:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22619776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missafairy/pseuds/missafairy
Summary: A young girl, Anna, gets caught up in the Wincheter’s investigation. Not handling her emotions very well, she decides to hold on to the only people who can understand her. Being pulled deeper into the dangerous world full of magic and supernatural creatures, she starts to realise that her life may be worth living. Slowly, she becomes Dean’s light in the dark, and he becomes her anchor. They need each other to understand that they are not weak because they break down, but that they are strong because they pick up the pieces and try again.Anna is the OC but can be replaced with y/n if needed.
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s), Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean Winchester/You
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Of course Supernatural doesn’t belong to me, I write non – profit, just for fun, some chapters may be more or less including some ideas used on the show like main plotlines or quotes. English is not my 1st language. 
> 
> Shoutout to the wonderful @justkending and @memcjo for supporting me!!! Also to @winchest09 and @there-must-be-a-lock who are really, really kind and helpful.

Small town in Nebraska. That was their next stop. A young girl died in her own apartament. Nothing overly unusual, right? Except for lack the of fingerprints, no forced entry, doors locked from the inside. Windows closed. No enemies, no health issues. And it didn’t look like a suicide. Not for Sam and Dean at least, because who takes their life with a kitchen knife stabbing themselves straight in the stomach? But for the local police it was in fact a suicide. They didn’t have evidence for it to be a murder. And for normal cops at the police station supernatural world doesn’t exist. Lucky them. So that was why Sam and Dean were driving the interstate at the break of dawn. To save a life. Lives maybe. Because whatever that was, it wasn’t going to stop. They knew that for sure.

„So where are we heading first?” Dean asked when the sign showed 4 miles to their destination. They were already dressed in suits to impersonate federal agents so they didn’t need to take a stop and change.

The plan was usually the same. First – crime scene, morgue, then interviewing witesses, family and friends of the victim. They have already checked the history of the flat, looking for sudden, unexpected deaths and suicides, but it was quite a new building in a safe neighbourhood and only one person died in it – an older woman, age 98, passed peacefully in her sleep a few years ago. They guessed she wasn’t a vengerful spirit responsible for this bloody murder.

„Kennedy Street, that’s where Reese Thorne lived. And then we can go to her workplace, it’s just a few blocks away,” Sam responded while closing his laptop.

„Kennedy Street it is,” Dean announced and turned the music up. Sam rolled his eyes, but Dead could swear he saw him smile at the song.

A few minutes later, brothers left the Impala on an almost full parking lot right outside the flat and headed inside. They climbed the stairs to the second floor. Dean was holding an EMF detector and Sam was looking around to see if they’re alone in the corridor. They were, so he started opening the door to apartament numer 17 where Reese lived.

The small, one bedroom apartament looked completely normal, except for a bloody stain on the kitchen floor. It was still there, noone bothered to clean it. Light beige walls were brighting up the space. Thin white curtains were covering the view from the windows. The knife was gone – obviously taken for expertise. But, as Sam noticed when he walked into the victim’s bedroom, someone had been here, and took Reese’s personal stuff. Clothes were missing from her closet, shelves were empty, no trace of any books, jewelery boxes or decorations. Sam sighed and walked up to Dean, who was standing in the kitchen, arms crossed on his chest, EMF detector sticking out of his jacket pocket, obviously useless. If a vengeful spirit had been there that day Reese was murdered, it could have moved along with an object it was tied to. Dean checked the bathroom, all drawers were empty, only cleaning supplies were in a basket in the corner, clearly left behind, and the living room – all furniture were there, as well as fluffy cushions on the nude sofa, everything nice and clean, but Dean saw a few nails in the walls, as if something hang on them before.

„I’ve got nothing”, Dean said and shrugged his arms. „Half of her stuff is gone, someone must have taken them earlier.” He said and Sam nodded in agreement after his brother’s unncessary announcement.

„Yeah, same in the bedroom,” he agreed.

„The investigation ended just yesterday, someone was quick,” Dean noticed. „So, what now? We saw the body in the photos taken by the technicians, we don’t have to go to the morgue… You said she worked a few blocks away?”

„Yes, in an office,” Sam clarified. „She was an accountant.”

„Yay! Maybe she stabbed herself out of boredom,” Dean murmurred and Sam immediately glared at him.

„Seriously?” He asked, clearly irritated. Dean only rolled his eyes, he didn’t say anything. The brothers walked out of the apartament in silence and headed to the car.

The short drive to the office, that the victim used to work in, was not uncomfortable, and Dean couldn’t help but glance at Sam, who was deep in thought. He tried to connect all the dots about the case, but well… there were no dots so far. They had to keep digging. A part of Dean wanted it to be an easy salt and burn job, but the other part was rooting for something more complicated.

Sam and Dean walked up to the man at the reception desk.

„Agents Harrison Smith and Anthony Smith, FBI,” Dean said with confidence as he and Sam showed their badges. „And no, we are not related,” he quickly added.

„We would like to talk to the head accountant about the recent death of Reese Thorn,” Sam told him. „Did you know her well?”

„Oh…” the man got up from his bar stool and the brothers could see sadness in his eyes. „Poor Reese. No, no, I didn’t. But she was really kind, always saying ‘hello’ and ‘bye’. It’s not that comon here, you know? You’ll get some intel in the accounting departament though. But… FBI? Really? We were told it was a suicide” The receptionist knew they weren’t going to anwer any of his questions. „Let me lead you to the accounting departament, it’s… well not so easy to explain where it is,” he told them and both Winchesters followed him upstairs, then to the left, then to the right and upstairs again, through two sets of glass door and to the left. Yeah. It wasn’t that easy to explain. This place was a freaking maze. 

The nametag on the open door said „Joannah Earl”. Okay, so they had to interrogate Joannah Earl. It was time to see how much she knew about her worker. Joannah was an elegant woman in late 40s, maybe early 50s. She was dressed in a beige buton – up and brown pants. Her short hair were blond and curly, glasses were framing her palce face. She looked up at the visitors.

„Agents Harrison Smith and Anthony Smith, FBI,” Dean said again, his voice almost bored. „We’re here about the death of Reese Thorn.” He looked at the receptionist and whispered ‘thank you’ letting him know it was time to leave. If he didn’t know Reese he was no use. For now at least.

„Reese? Why is FBI interested in suicide?” Joannah asked, her brows furrowed.

„We have to consider other possibilities,” Dean told her.

„Ah, please, sit. I’m Joannah Earl, I am Reese’s supervisor. Was, I mean I was,” she corrected herself.

„How was Reese at work?” Sam asked. „Did she have a lot of friends?”

„No, not really,” Joannah started. „She was nice and friendly I guess. Very helpful, but work was work. She didn’t get that close with anyone here… I mean except for Alice? Or no, Anna,” she frowned and thought for a little while. „I think that girl’s name is Anna, she works in archives, downstairs. They were close friends, they went to high school together.” She looked at Dean as he wrote down ‘Anna, archives’ in his notebook.

„Did you see anything strange about Reese before she died?” Dean asked looking at her.

„Strange? No, not at all,” Mrs. Earl responded, still frowning. „She was completely normal. She gave me some documents to sign that day, we talked about something briefly… Ah, right. About coats.”

„Thank you,” Dean said. „Thank you for your time.”

„I’m sorry I couldn’t help more…”

„It’s alright,” Sam told her. „You said we could find Anna downstairs?”

„Yes, there are stairs next to the reception desk you passes earlier,” she clarified.

„Thank you,” Sam said. Dean just smiled, then they both got up and tried to find their way of the departament. They finally found the stairs that lead to the archives and started walking down. The space downstairs looked surprisingly neat, the walls were a weird shade of light yellow, but there was a giant frame on the wall with all the archive workers from 1998 to the present year. Dean walked up to it and Sam stopped right next to him as well.

„Dude,” Dean made a face. „People had weird hair in the 90s. Kinda like yours now,” he laughed and Sam rolled his eyes. One might have thought he’ll lose his eyeballs someday, but rolling his eyes was the only response to Dean’s awkward ‘jokes’ that Sam could think of. „Here,” he said and gestured to a photo and silver letters below it saying „Anna”. Despite Anna being quite a popular name, only one Anna worked in the archives. In the photo she looked tiny, had long brown hair and dark eyes.

„Let’s go talk to Anna,” muttered Sam and both brothers headed towards the door. Sam knocked and entered the big room, surprisingly bright for a room in the basement. There were two desks in the middle, and large copy machine behind them. Most of the space was filled with large drawers and shelves, that made the room look much smaller than it in fact was. There was something cozy about it, Dean thought. Kind of like in a library. There were small lights taped to one of the desks, as well as a collection of staplers, all in different shades or purple as well as the chair. But the chair was empty. The other desk on the other hand, quite raw and undecorated was being occupied by an older man. He slowly raised his head and looked at the Winchesters clearly confused. They introduced themselves, this time making it clear that they were not related and the same names were just a pure coincidence. The man looked at the suspiciously, but told them that Anna called in sick this morning, probably because Reese’s death wasn’t easy for her. That man, named Henry, also knew that she and Reese were best friends. They were often eating lunch together, sometimes they went shopping after work. He gave them her address and the Winchesters headed there immediately, hoping to find out more about the case there. It was only a few blocks away from that office, but in a slightly different direction than Reese’s flat. They guessed Anna might be the key to solve it. After all only she seemed to know Reese.

But Anna wasn’t to be found at the given address. Fortunately her neighbour was nosy enough to ask them why they are looking for Anna in the first place. She told them where Anna’s grandmother lived and that they will find her there. Sam and Dean both has had already enough of this case. Another place turned out to be a dead end. They went here and there and still haven’t got a clue about what killed Reese. What was wrong with that case?

They finally found that house. Anna’s grandmother house. It was very small, Sam thought that the garden looked like it needed a full time gardener, but Dean looked at the messy flowers and chaoticly growing wild raspberry bushes with a smile. They knocked to the delapidated door, fake badges ready in their hands. A small, petite young girl with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail and dark brown eyes answered the door. Good. They found Anna.

„Good afternoon, I guess you’re Anna? Agents Anthony Smith and Harrison Smith, we’re with the FBI, we’d like to ask you a few questions,” Sam introduced them, knowing well that Dean was way too bored to say the same thing for the fourth time today, and Anna’s eyes grew big in shock. Well, she wasn’t used to the FBI knocking on her door. „Can we come in?”

„Um… please,” she said, but Dean noticed how unsure she was. ‘Suspicious’, he thought.

„I’m sorry, the floor’s all wet I’ve been cleaning,” she told them. „Please sit down,” Anna gestured them the armchairs in a narrow living room. They walked past the bucket with water into the living room and both Sam and Dean sat down. She didn’t offer them anything to drink and Dean was disappointed as they didn’t make a coffee break this afternoon. Anna sat on the old sofa, her hands on her knees, waiting for them to start asking her questions. She was nervous, they could tell, but it didn’t have to mean anything. She was probably scared of them- the two strangers in the house, not of the fact they were federal agents.

„How can I help you?” She asked finally.

„We wanted to ask you about Reese Thorne,” Dean told her. Anna’s neutral expression changed for a second, but it changed back again after she had mentally scolded herself. She nodded slowly, waiting for the question. „Were you close?”

„Yes,” she said, her voice hoarse. „We were good friends, we went to high school together. We worked in the same office, she actually got me a job there two years ago.”

„We’re sorry for your loss,” Dean said mechanically. Anna just nodded and mouthed a ‘thank you’. She looked like she wanted to cry. „Do you think she could have taken her life?”

„I don’t know,” Anna whispered. „It’s what the police said. I don’t know, I’d say she didn’t do it, but then… what if she could just pretend, you know? Pretend that she was okay while she wasn’t? I mean, she was pretty fed up lately, but…” her voice cracked and she just shrugged her shoulders.

„Fed up?” Sam asked.

„Her boyfriend Chris died recently. Two weeks ago or so. Maybe three. I mean her ex – boyfriend. They broke up right before he died.”

„How did he die?” Dean was getting curious. Finally the case started making some sense.

„It was an accident, he was crossing the street, a taxi driver didn’t notice him,” Anna expained.

„Can you tell me his full name?”

„Christian Abernathy. They have dated for a year or so,” Anna’s brows furrowed. „Do you think it is important?” she asked, assuming they won’t answer anyways.

„Every detail might be important,” Sam said with a soft smile.

„Uh… okay.”

„Lovely house,” Dean said looking around. He felt like they needed to change the topic for a second or the girl might become a sobbing mess and despite his love for women and cuddling it was something he would rather avoid this time.

„It’s my grandma’s… I’m surprised you found me here, but hey, FBI,” she chuckled nervously.

„Your neighbour told us you’re here.”

„Grandma could use some help from time to time and I really didn’t feel like going to work,” Anna explained.

„Have you noticed anything strange about Reese before her death?” He asked hesitantly.

„No, I haven’t. She was still pretty shaken up about Chris’s death, but that was totally normal,” she told them.

„And she’s never mentioned any strange sounds, smells, electricity issues, maybe cold spots?” Dean asked and he watched Anne’s almost perfect neutral mask cracks. She shook her head, a little too quickly and that was enough for him to look at Sam knowingly.

„I’m sorry, but you are not making any sense,” she told Dean, looking directly at him now.

„I just asked a question,”

„Well, like I said,” Sam stepped in seeing that the interview is going south, „every detail can be important,” he said in a soft voice.

„She said something about…” Anna looked at the floor. „She told me about weird sounds,” she confessed. „Now that I think of it, it could have been that person that killed her! But I swear if I had known I would never let her stay there. I thought she was just sad, tired and you know, not thinking straight.”

„Does anything else come to your mind?” Asked Dean, now calm again.

„Um… no?”

„Anna,” Dean started, his voice dangerously low. „Whatever you wanna tell us? Believe me, we’ve heard weirder.”

„Look, I’ve just lost my best friend,” she said. „Don’t you think I can be a little crazy?”

„Yeah, you have every right to be.”

„I heard a voice too. My grandma is in the hospital. She’s not even here, I just came because I heard this voice… I was so scared”, tears were now streaming down her face. „I went to her apartament. Resse’s apartament, I mean. I promised her parents I would pack everything. So I did and there was this large stain of blood and I can still see it when I close my eyes and I imagined her laying there and I just got a little crazy. I lost my mind a little. At night I heard this voice. And it was so cold and I didn’t even leave the window open.”

Dean looked at Sam and Sam nodded slowly.

„Anna,” Sam said. „So you heard the voice after you picked up her stuff?” he asked and she looked at him with watery eyes. She nodded.

„I know I heard it, I didn’t just imagine it,” she whispered.

„We’re not saying you did,” said Sam softly. „We have a theory about what killed your friend.”

„About what killed her?” Anna was clearly confused. „What do you think it was?”

„We think a vengeful spirit killed your friend,” Dean said slowly, waiting for her reaction.

Anna looked at their serious expressions and laughed. She laughed and laughed, her laugh loud and hysterical. And it went on and on for good three minutes, tears streaming down her cheeks.

„I’m sorry,” she said after a while. She looked like a mess, she was aware of that but who were those guys kidding? At first they seem professional and now they’re telling her stories? „What did you say?”

„A vengeful spirit. Noises and cold spots? Maybe flickering lights?”

„Yeah, that too!” she said.

„It’s a perfect example of a ghost. A nasty one,” said Dean. He has seen this kind of reaction before. He’s seen all kinds of reactions. „I bet on Chris Abernathy.”

„Are you serious?” She asked with disbelief.

„Deadly,” said Dean.

„You know what?” She wiped tears off her face. „I think I don’t believe you, but it makes sense. Are you really with the FBI? Is the X files real too?”

„No,” Sam laughed. „We’re not feds.”

„Right,” she said. „So what are you?”

„We’re hunters. My name is Sam Winchester, this is my brother Dean. We hunt supernatural creatures. Ghosts, werewolves, vampires… things like that” Sam told her.

„And Anna?” Dean said. „We need your help.”

„My help?” She looked at him as if he was an alien from outer space.

„We have to take a look at those things you brought from Resse’s apartament,” he told her.

„They are at my place, but I am not going back there!” She almost shouted. „You told me that that place is haunted and you want me to go back there? What if it kills me like it killed Reese? It’s a ghost, right? So hitting it in the head with a baseball bat won’t help now, will it? Do ghosts have heads?” Anna was looking at them, her eyes wide, panic in her voice. She looked at them expectantly.

„An iron baseball bat would work,” Dean told her with a grin. „And yes, they do have heads. But don’t worry, we’ll be there the whole time.”

„So iron kills them?”

„No, but it can slow them down,” said Dean. „So can salt.”

„Salt? Just salt?” She asked and Dean nodded. „Okay, I have salt,” she said and ran to the kitchen.

Dean looked at Sam and rolled his eyes.

„Come on, we’ve got plenty of that in the trunk!” Dean called, but Anna was already standing by the front door, a bag of salt under her arm. She was putting her sneakers on and both brothers walked up to her.

„Okay, we can go now,” she said. She grabbed her purse from the shelf by the door and Sam and Dean walked out of the house, Anna following them.

„Are we walking or do you have a car?” She asked and they lead her to the Impala. She sat in the back, bag of salt in her arms.

„Why did that thing kill Reese?” She whispered. „If that was Chris’s ghost… I mean, didn’t he love her? They have just broken up, there’s no way he unloved her in a matter of minutes.”

„Do you know why they broke up?” Asked Dean. „Those spirits may have an unfinished business. They may want revenge."

„There’s this guy at work, his name is Matt,” Anna started. „He works in the archive with me.”

„Isn’t his name Henry?” Dean asked before he could stop himself.

„Henry works part time, so does Matt, they switch,” she said. „Matt is the type of a guy who is a bit too stubborn, you know? He was into Reese, he didn’t get it that she had a boyfriend. He kissed her the other day at that theme party we had at work a little over a month ago. She slapped him and all and she didn’t know if she should tell Chris or not. But eventually she did. On the night that Chris died. He was so pissed that he broke up with her.”

„So Chris was the jealous type?” Dean asked.

„Yeah, I guess, I don’t really know. I’ve only met him a few times, I didn’t really like him,” she confessed. „It seemed like he didn’t trust her. But she and Matt? Nothing happened, I was there, she was pissed at him. She would never cheat on Chris.”

„Yeah, my bet is still on Chris,” Dean said as he parked his car in front of Anna’s flat and they all walked inside.

„If iron and salt only slow ghosts down,” Anna said, hugging her salt bag while climbing the stairs, „can they be killed somehow? They’re already dead so… huh?”

„Salting and burning their bones puts them to rest,” Sam explained, „but in this case we think it’s connected to an object because it must have moved from Reese’s apartament to yours, so we’d have to burn that object.”

„Wow,” she muttered and opened the door to her apartament. Sam and Dean walked inside first, she followed them hesitantly.

„All boxes are here,” she said and showed them the messy living room. „What’s that?” She asked looking at the EMF detector in Dean’s hands.

„Ghosts have electo magnetic field around them… So this thing is like a ghost radar,” he told her. She walked up to him and stood on her toes looking at the device.

„So? Is it here?” She asked, bag of salt ready to throw at anything that moved. The device was beeping quietly, but she had no idea what that meant.

„No, not anymore,” Dean told her and he could hear her relieved breath. „But it was here. I’m sure it was here,” he said loudly, looking at her and at Sam. „What kind of a ghost can move around like that? It’s annoying!”

„Do you know where Matt lives?” Sam asked Anna and she shook her head. She had no idea, but if she understood well and Chris’s ghost was moving around trying to get revenge, killing Matt would be the next step he’d take.

Sam sat at the table with his laptop, searching the database for Matthew Simmons’s address, Dean was waiting impatiently, sitting on the sofa. Anna on the other hand was still standing in the middle of the room, thousands of thoughts racing through her mind. Finally, she walked up to the boxes and opened a few of the, searching for something.

„What are you doing?” Dean asked her, but she ignored him. She was looking for car keys. Those stupid car keys. She knew that Chris was obsessed with his car. She found that out once when he gave her a ride home after Reese’s birthday party. She knew she saw them before somewhere, but she knew they didn’t belong to Reese.

„They’re gone,” she whispered, throwing everything out of one of the boxes. „They’re not here!”

„What’s not here?” Dean asked impatiently and walked up to her.

„There were two sets of car keys,” she said, holding one of them in her hand. „These were Reese’s, she had a blue Ford, I gave her this keychain! But there was another car key. I thought it maybe was a spare, but Chris drove a ford too. If he’s tied to an object, it was probably something he had on him when he died, right? He was going to his car. Reese must have got some of his stuff after he died, there’s no way his family knew about their breakup!”

„And that’s how the ghost found itself in her apartament,” Dean noticed.

„And then I brought it to my house,” Anna continued. „But why isn’t it here anymore?”

„We have to go to warn Matt,” Dean told her and looked at Sam.

„I still don’t have the address, give me five more minutes,” he said.

Anna picked up the long forgotten salt bag and waited for Sam to tell them Matt’s address.

„You’re staying here,” Dean told her when he saw her pick up the bag.

„Of course I’m not!” She opposed.

„Sammy? Tell her something,” Dean said, clearly annoyed.

„Matthew Jeremy Simmons, 1478 California Avenue” Sam said and Anna ran to the door.

„You’re staying!” said Dean pushing her lightly out of his way.

„Don’t touch me!” She yelled and followed Sam down the stairs. „Reese was like a sister to me!” She said, running to the car. She opened the door and Dean slammed it before she could get inside the car. „Hey!”

„You’re not going. Believe me, it’s not safe, you don’t wanna be there!”

„Dean, of course I don’t wanna be there facing a crazy jealous ghost, but Reese was my friend. And I think I owe her that. I hated Chris since the second I met him, I never told her that he was a dick and she was blindly in love with him and his ego, and now she’s dead because of him. And Matt’s in danger. And I have to go with you. I’ll wait outside, or in the car until you figure it out,” she said and Dean believed her. People usually thought they could handle whatever supernatural creature they were facing. They always wanted to be in the middle of the fight. He didn’t say anything, he just got into his car and Anna did the same, shutting the door behind her.

The drive was fast and quiet, Dean stopped the car, breaks squeaking and they all rushed out of the car. Sam and Dean ran to the front door of the house, jumping over the short fence. Anna stayed on the sidewalk, pacing along the fence. Matthew didn’t open the door, Sam somehow opened it and they came inside, closing the door carefully behind them.

„Matt?” Sam called, but noone responded.

„Matt!”

They both walked from the corridor into the kitchen, that was a big open space connected to the living room. They saw a small table in the middle of the kitchen space was laying on the floor, shattered glass around it and blood drops that lead them to find Matt laying in a pool of his own blood behind the sofa, his eyes wide and empty. He was already cold, dead for several hours. EMF in Dean’s pocket beeping like crazy. Sam loaded his gun with rock salt bullets and looked around. Matt’s death was not a fast one, like Resse’s. It was clear to the brothers that he struggled and wanted to fight back.

„I guess we’re late,” Dean muttered. „Let’s find that car key,” he said and he and sam split, looking around. But the key was nowhere to be found. Not in Matt’s bag, bagpack, not on any shelf, in any drawer, just nowhere. They’ve checked his pockets – still nothing.

„Maybe it moved again?” Sam suggested.

„It’s a ghost, Sam, it can’t teleport!” Dean opposed.

„Maybe it’s not a ghost?”

„EMF’s beeping like crazy, if it could howl, it would,” Dean confronted him. „Maybe it’s not that damn key. Maybe Chris had a different beloved object he tied himself to. We should go talk to his parents,” he suggested.

„Yeah, you’re right,” Sam agreed and followed Dean out of the house.

„Did you find it?” Anna asked as soon as they left the house. She was glad they came out, she got bored about an hour ago.

„No, nothing was there,” Dean told her, clearly annoyed. Hell, maybe Sam was right and it wasn’t even a ghost? Anna didn’t seem to be laying, but they also had to take that into consideration. „Matt’s dead. We’re going to talk to Chris’s parents now, maybe they’ll give us a clue what’s going on here.”

„Matt is… dead?” Anna said and hugged the salt bag tighter. „Oh no…”

„Yeah, someone will report it sooner or later,” Sam told her. „I’m sorry.”

„Huh… what – what about that key? If it’s not here…”

„It’s probably not even that key,” Dean interrupted her. He pulled out a card from his suit’s pocket and gave it to Anna, who again looked like she was about to burst out with tears. „Give us a call when you remember something, see something.”

Anna hesitantly took the card and swallowed her tears, her throat squeezed so tightly it hurt.

„Do you need a ride?” Sam asked and she shook her head.

„I’ll walk. I have to clear my head,” she said and smiled softly. „Whatever it is I hope you find it.” Dean nodded and Sam smiled back at her. „Good luck, I guess.”

Anna started walking toward the main street and the Winchesters drove slowly, Sam was already checking Chris’s address in the database. Anna watched as their car got smaller and smaller. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks. First Reese, now Matt. She looked behind her, but noone was there. She opened the bag of salt and took some in her palm. If those weirdos were right, and vengeful spirits were real that meant that her whole world has turned upside down. But she was sure that the car key was in the first box on the left, the only one that closed, the one she got from her grandma when she announced she was going to college. The one she gave to Reese when she gave up on the whole college idea. Anna stared at the red light that didn’t allow her to cross the street. She took a deep breath. That key was there on the last evening that she spent in her apartament. She was wondering if it was Reese’s, but she never checked. She left that box open. The key was there when she drank coffee in the morning. Someone pushed her and she looked around realising that the light turned green. The crowd was walking through the street, but she couldn’t feel her legs. The light turned red again. She turned around and walked in the direction of Matt’s house, looking like a lunatic, but not caring at all. She stood on the sidewalk and walked along the fence, to the left, to the right… Matt was in that house. He was dead. Someone might come here any minute. But she had to check for herself if the key was there. She pushed the gate with her knee and it opened easily. Good thing she didn’t have to jump through the fence. She stood in front of the door, careful not to touch anything. She stood on the doormat, her legs restless. And then she felt something under her shoe. She kicked the doormat up and saw a silver key under it. Was Matt really that dumb? Well she never thought he was smart, but seriously? She grabbed the key and opened the door. She still stood on the doormat. She poured the salt from her hand into the salt bag and tucked it under her arm. Still standing in place she typed the phone number Dean gave her. She didn’t want to go into that house alone. But someone had to find that damn key. On that morning she drank her coffee, she was too numb to eat anything. She remembered she was looking at those boxes with a tight stomach. The key was there, or wasn’t it? She slid the phone back into her pocket and grabbed some salt, feeling some of it pour out of her hand. She took a step inside. Another step. She started walking throug the corridor, into the messy kitchen, then she jumped when she saw Matt’s lifeless body. And then she heard the door shut loudly. The sound pierced her ears and she turned abruptly, squealing, her back against a wall. She took a deep breath and that’s when she saw him. Chris appeared in front of her, picking up a bloody knife from the floor, the one he killed Chris with. Anna’s muscle tensed and she reminded herself of the bag of salt under her arm. She threw what was left in her palm straight at Chris and he disappeared. Anna blinked quickly. She saw a freaking ghost. She grabbed a lamp big lamp that stood on the floor and without thinking broke the window next to her. She crawled out of the house, salt spilling everywhere. She ran. She stopped somewhere a few blocks away and pulled her phone out with the shaking hands.

„Hello?”

When Anna heard that voice she tought she’ll start crying and she won’t stop. Instead she took a deep breath.

„Dean? Is that you?”

„Yeah, uh? Anna? Is that you?”

„Yes, Dean, you have to come back here, it’s there, it’s in the house! Salt works! But I broke the window!”

„Wait, what? Where are you?”

„I’m…” Anna looked around. „I can see Walmart, there’s only one in this town,” se gasped.

„Alright, wait there, we’re on our way,” Dean said and hang up before she could ask him not to. She looked around and shifted the salt bag. Even though there was not much left, she wasn’t going to let it go. She didn’t even know when the black Impala stopped next to her. Wasting no time she got inside and with a squeaky voice told both brothers what happened.

„Well, that’s a mess. Did someone see you?” Dean asked, his eyes never leaving the road.

„I don’t know,” she said honestly. They pulled over at the side of the street and walked into the house again, armed with rock salt shotguns. Well, except for Anna, but she got a new bag of salt from their trunk announcing that she’s not going anywhere without it. The doors were unlocked now, the spare key from under the doormat still in the lock. Anna cursed herself in her thoughts. She certainly wasn’t that smart either. Fingerprints everywhere. Maybe even witnesses. Great. They followed the same path again, until they stoppped next to Matt’s body. Sam and Dean looked at the damage Anna’s done, but they were glad she was okay. They felt that without her they have no chance with solving this case. They kept looking for the key, but it was gone, just like the spirit. Sam and Dean must have overlooked something. They walked into the bedroom, passing by a pile of dirty clothes. And that’s where Anna stopped.

On the last morning in her apartament, Anna decided to wear a long, grey cardigan. She bought it with Reese, and what was worth mentioning – Reese bought one like this for herself too. Anna remembered folding it gently and putting in one of Reese’s suitcases. That day was surprisingly warm and when she was leaving work she decided to leave it there, hanging on her chair. Why did she forget aout that? And why was it laying on that pile of Matt’s clothes? She walked up to it and grabbed the kardigan. She noticed something was in the pocket and when she pulled it out Dean whistled.

„Good job, Sherlock,” he said with a soft grin, but Anna didn’t have much time to celebrate her little win because the tempereture in the room drastically dropped. Chris stood next to them, this time without a knife, but Anna was still scared out of her mind. Sam shot Chris with rock salt and he disappeared. Not for long though, and when he came back he threw Anna across the room. She manager to cover her head with her arms before hitting the wall with a loud yelp. She was still squeezing the car key in her hand. She had to burn it! How the hell could she burn a key? Fortunately, she heard another gunshot an Dean was already next to her, taking it from her, pouring something smelly on the key.

„Watch out,” he said and light up the damn object. Chris appeared once again and she could see his burning siluette, the scent of gasoline hitting her nostrilis. With a loud shriek Chris disappeared and Dean helped Anna get up from the floor.

„You alright?” He asked and Anna nodded hesitantly.

„How did you find it?” Sam asked and she knew immediately what he meant.

„I wore this sweater to work one day. I don’t know how they key got inside my pocket, but Matt must have took it home after I left it at work. Me and Reese we had the same kardigans, I guess he was so messed up in the head that he took it, maybe he thought it was hers?” She said with disgust.

„Creep,” Dean said. People were often worse than vengeful spirits. „Well, it’s over now,” he said. „Let’s wipe our fingerprints, Sammy and let’s think of a cover story for her,” he tilted his head in Anna’s direction. Sam nodded. It was going to be a long evening.

Anna didn’t go to work the next day. Everyone thought she was the one to find Matt’s body, broke the window and ran, clearly in shock. Then she called the cops, just like Sam and Dean told her to. Of course she never mentioned them. The investigation was still open, but Anna was not the suspect, which was the most important.

At night she left the lights on, but there were no weird sounds this time, it was warm and calm. Her mind was on fire, thinking of everything that happened with Chris, Reese, Matt and the Winchesters. The feeling of dread was still there, coming at her in waves, but she tried to fight it with all of her strength. For a brief second she thought of Sam and Dean and how they were handling all that. When it came to a goodbye Dean said „Good job, but next time? Stay out of dead men houses. Take care” and Sam just smiled, saying a lame „bye”. Then they left in a hurry, leaving Anna all alone. „You can do it,” Sam said when she whimpered after hearing their plan to leave her to do all the explaining. But she had to trust them. And she did. And now, even though she was exhausted and salt was poured around her bed, creating a circle, she was wide awake, her eyes open, heart racing. But she could do it. She had to. She fell asleep several hours later, when the sun was already rising.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean's Smith FBI phone rang. He briefly took his eyes off the road and his brows furrowed with confusion. It wasn't exactly an unusual thing, but they weren't in the middle of the case now and he couldn't remember the last time he used the Smith badge. The last time was probably about three months ago, when they were trying to take down a vampire's nest in North Carolina. Now they were on their way to Iowa to check out a possible case, but they were still pretty away from their destination. Sam looked at Dean, his gaze questioning. Finally, he picked up the phone.

„Smith, FBI." Said Sam answering the phone.

„Uh… Dean?" Sam heard an unfamiliar female voice and turned on the speaker.

„Who is this?" He asked, not wanting to accidently blow their cover. He didn't know who this voice might belong to.

„Oh, right. It's Anna. Anna Jackson. Nebraska, jealous ghost, haunted car keys…" she tried to remind him.

„Anna, what's up?" Dean asked, curious about what the girl may want. He gave her this card a few months ago when they were working a case she was involved with.

„So… I know you guys must be busy and all, but I think I may possibly have a case for you?" She said hesitantly, actually it sounded more like a question.

„A case? Back in your town?" He wondered.

„No, not really, but yeah, in Nebraska, but on the other side of the state, about an hour to the border of Missouri," she told him trying to sound as calm as possible.

„What is this case?" Sam asked out of curiousity.

„Hi, Sam… So it's a haunted house. Cliche? Maybe, but it sounds like your kind of thing. People are going missing from time to time, just a little over a week ago a group of teenagers went inside. Two girls that bailed said they heard screams, they even called the cops. Cops who checked this place out went missing too. Local police are trying to wrap their heads around it, but I don't think they know what they're doing," she finished and waited for a reply. There was none. „Can I send you the details?"

„Uh, yeah," Dean said. „ It sounds like our kind of thing." He said, but he didn't sound very convincing. „How do you know about it anyways?"

„Oh you know, I was reading a lot, trying to maybe find something worth your time," she confessed, „I'm not sure about this one, but it sounds supernatural, right?"

„I guess it does," he told her. They've hit the road for a lot less than that. Like right now for example, they were on their way to Iowa for what might have as well been a sadistic serial killer.

„Can I e-mail you everything I found?"

„Yeah, sure," Sam said. „Hang on, I'll text you my email address."

„Great, thanks, so… let me know what you think," she said unsurely. „Bye."

„Bye" both brothers said in unision. She hang up, and Sam texted her his email address.

„Wow," he said after a while.

„What's up?" Dean asked, chewing on a chocolate bar.

„She got the house's history, from when it was built, who lived in it, it goes almost a hundred and fifty years back. All disappearances, names, dates…" Sam told him and Dean raised his brows.

„You think she actually got us a case?" He aksed with disbelief.

It was almost impossible for him to imagine that this scared to death girl was digging around looking for cases and reading about Supernatural creatures. Yeah, sure, she didn't lose her mind completely, but he thought she would just do everything she could to forget about it, not look for more. He met people that took the supernatural news better than she did.

„Looks like it," Sam said. „I think it's worth checking it out, there's so much details in these files that it has to be our thing. A classic haunted house."

„Ghost goo and lack of electricity, you mean?" Dean asked with a grin. „Count me in", he said, driving the interstate, turning up the music. „Haunted house, here we go," he muttered and Sam closed his laptop. He sent Anna a quick text that said they would take the job. He sat more comfortably wincing at Dean's attempts to sing along to the song on the radio.

Sam and Dean slept through the night in a motel, crappy as always, but at least there were beds. The drive was long and they still had to drive for a few hours to get to Nebraska. Now, in the morning both of them were feeling a bit better, but still everything hurt from sitting in the car too long. They were sipping coffee in a small cafe right next to the motel. Sam sent a text to Anna telling her they will be there by noon, and that they will let her know what's going on in that house. Whatever reason she had for giving them these files, she seemed to be pretty interested in what they thought about it.

„Alright, let's go or we won't get there today," Dean said getting up from the table. He threw some money on it, grabbed his jacket and headed towards his car. Sam was following, still sipping on his coffee. He was glad he took it to go.

„It's not that far from here, just three hours if you hurry," he said and Dean grinned. He never liked driving within the speed limit.

„I'll make it two and a half," he smirked and Sam rolled his eyes. Why did he even told his brother to hurry? He always drove a little too fast for Sam's liking.

Two hours and forty two minutes later Dean stopped his car at the side of the bumpy street. The neighbourhood looked... empty. Empty was a good word. Except for the house that was said to be haunted there was nothing. Some trees, a mailbox, a small shack without a half of the roof that no doubt was abandoned. Dean wasn't one that scared easily. Neither was Sam. And still they jumped when they heard a knocking on the car window. Anna stood outside, smiling. She gave them an awkward wave and waited for them to get out of the car. She was wearing makeup this time and her long, dark hair was falling down her shoulders. She had a large bag on her shoulder and she was clearly struggling to carry it.

„Hey," she said, greeting both brothers. Sam responded with a „hi", but Dean only furrowed his eyebrows.

„What are you doing here?" He asked, not really trying to be mean, just very, very curious.

„I didn't feel like going to work, I called in sick... thought I could take my mind off some things, you know," she shrugged and bit her lip. Something was clearly bothering her, but Dean had a feeling she wasn't going to share it with the class.

„I don't know what you were thinking while coming here, but you're not coming with us," he said, walked around her and opened the trunk.

„Oh, I'm not going to," she said watching Dean and his brother as they pulled shotguns out of a wooden chest. Dean raised his eyebrows in disbelief. „One encounter with a crazy ghost is really enough for me," she told them.

„Clearly," Dean responded. „And that's why you're here, huh?"

„Dean," Sam tried to scold him, but his brother ignored him.

„I'm here because..." Anna started and stopped abruptly. She took a deep breath, „I'm here because after all that happened I'm kind of... paranoid, you know? I can't just forget about all of this and, most importantly I can't talk to anyone about this," she confessed. „My best friend's dead, my grandma's in the hospital again, I'm all alone and I just don't know what to do! So no, I don't want to get into that damn house, and I know you won't let me," she said looking at Dean, „but maybe you'll figure out what's going on and noone else will ever go missing in it again. And that's all that I want," she told them.

„Alright," Dean muttered, believing her. „What matters is that we all want the same thing. Do you wanna wait in the car? It looks like it can start raining soon" He offered.

„Nah, I'm good here, I came prepared," she said, looking down at her raincoat wrapped tightly around her hips. Sam smiled and Dean nodded, both of them rushing to the house.

„Hey," she called them. „You will make it back, right?"

„Don't worry about us," Sam told her. „We'll be back."

„Just don't go inside," Dean reminded her and she nodded. Then they turned and she stood by their car watching as they disappeared in that house. A shiver went up her spine and she breathed deeply. She had to believe they'll be back.

Sam and Dean opened the door with ease. They weren't locked, the doorknob was a little loose and it seemed to be more than broken. The door made a squeaking sound, so typical Dean almost laughed. As soon as they walked inside, they smelled the air had an unpleasant scent of mold. It was cold and humid inside, but it didn't seem to be the ghostly cold spot. The corridor was dusty and dark. Dean pulled a flashlight out of his bag even though it was almost noon. There were plenty footprints on the floor and they figured that the missing kids and cops must have left them. Dean pulled out the EMF detector and it light up and started beeping.

„Looks like Casper is home," Dean joked and looked around the living room they've just entered. This house must have looked beautiful once. The fireplace looked expensive, marble carvings very detailed, of course covered in dust. The furniture looked like the ones you could find in a royal museum, but some were misplaced, like maybe thieves tried to pull them out of the house, but instead they never even came out themselves. He remembered reading something about attempted robberies in the files Anna sent them. He walked up to the window and looked outside, only to find Anna sitting under a tree, quite far away from the house. She was sitting on the ground on her raincoat, moving her leg impatiently. It looked like she wan't going anywhere. Good. They didn't need her in that house. Sam and Dean didn't find anything unusual downstairs so they decided to go up. Sam touched the handrail and hissed.

„What?" Dean asked him, stopping abruptly. He didn't give Sam the time to answer. „Ghost goo!"

„Yeah. Ectoplasm," Sam agreed. „Something in here must be really pissed."

They walked further upstairs, careful not to touch anything this time. They split and each of them checked several bedrooms and bathrooms. Hell, they have even checked every single room in the attic. There was no sign of the bodies. They were walking down the stairs, ready to give up on the house and ready to talk to people in the town, when they felt an unnatural wave of cold air.

„Mhmm, so it begins," Dean said and carefully looked around.

A deformed silhouette of an older man appeared in front of him, pushing him with a great force before he managed to take a shot. Dean felt his back hit Sam's chest and they both stumbled after being thrown up the stairs. The spirit's face was covered in cuts that appeared to be still bleeding, his expression unreadable. Dean decided to shoot blindly, but the rock salt bullet missed the ghost. Then he felt the ghost's force was pulling them down the stairs, straight to him. When they were close, Dean shot once again and the spirit disappeared with an ear piercing yelp. Dean tried to get up from the stairs, but his legs hurt too much from being tossed up and down the stairs. He stumbled and leaned on the handrail, not caring about the ectoplasm that was now covering his jacket.

„What the hell," muttered Sam trying to get up as well. He was holding his nose, trying to figure out if it was broken from Dean's head slamming into it when the spirit decided to throw them around. It wasn't, but it was bleeding slightly.

„You alright?" Dean asked, when the sharp pain in his knee turned into a dull ache he could most definitely handle.

„Yeah," Sam said unsurely, looking around as if something was about to jump out of the darkness again.

„Let's go, we'll figure out who that man was and we'll find his bones," Dean decided. „We'll come back to look for the bodies after he's gone."

The Winchesters walked out of the house, already thinking of who the ghost might have been. According to Anna's files the first family that lived there died peacefully from old age, the children sold the house and moved to England, also died of old age. Next family – more probable, man and a woman, both very rich, no children, bought the house wanting to stay away from the noise of the town, but when the man died his wife sold the house and never came back to that town again. But the second owner died because of tuberculosis, so it wasn't really unexpected or abrupt, and he was cremated as the local hospital adviced at the time.

Sam and Dean walked out of the house glad the ghost didn't decide to lock them inside. As soon as Anna saw them she got up from the ground and started walking to them. They met halfway and she gasped loudly looking at Sam's face.

„What happened?" She asked, her eyes wide. „I heard something, it was the shotgun, wasn't it? You saw the spirit!"

„Did anyone ever told you that you ask a lot of questions?" Dean said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

„Yeah, my dad when I was three," she told him and looked at Sam expecting an answer.

„Something attacked us, it was a man, his face covered in cuts," Sam told her.

„You looked into the history of the house, any idea who that might have been?" Dean asked, trying not to think about the sticky substance on his jacket.

„Uh, no, but I guess the first person that disappeared in this house?" Anna guessed. „Oh wait, but that was a woman."

„A woman?"

„Yes, um, wait," she told him and pulled out her phone from the back pocket. „Her name was Margaret Harley, she was 30 or 31, I found two birth certificates of her, one said she was born on December 26th, the second January 4th, next year... but that wasn't uncommon those days," she told them.

„Right," Sam said. „When a child was born it was often imposssible to report it right after."

„Sometimes people waited for months and when it came to tell the birth date they often couldn't remember it," Anna finished.

„Peachy," Dean said. „I don't wanna bring you down, but I don't see how this information is relevant," he told them.

„Right, it's not," Anna admitted. „But if that was a man... the first man that died in there was Joshua Tenderson. He was a butler, worked for the Harleys."

„So something was wrong with the Harleys," Dean noticed. Anna nodded, not really knowing anything about the circumstances of those disappearances.

„I don't think anyone's alive anymore, I mean they all disappeared," she said. „Margaret, Joshua, Thomas – Margaret's husband, their children: William, Jeremy, Katherine, Marie – Louise. Even their maid Veronica."

„But the only guy that died them before that was the one sick with tuberculosis?" Sam wanted to make sure.

„From what I found, yes," Anna said. „I'm glad I was right about this being your thing, but I thought it would be easier to figure out..."

„It never is that easy to figure out," Dean told her and sighed. He didn't know why felt such a sudden urge to comfort her. „You'd be surprised how many time we've burned the wrong bones." He said and Sam chuckled. Dean was right. It happened quite often.

„Yeah," she sighed and followed them to the car. It was time to talk to those teenagers and maybe some older citizens that might have remembered the Harley family.

And so they did. Anna climbed on the beackseat of the Imapala and would always stay in the car when they interrogated people, fake FBI badges coming in handy. Sam and Dean found out that the Harley family was a very mysterious one. They visited an old town mayor, who suffered a little from memory loss that was fully acceptable in his age, but he told them a little about the Harleys. They came from Alabama, Thomas Harley was a respected sawmill owner, his wife hardly ever left the house, all four of his children were home schooled, except for the oldest son – William used to go to school. He was the one who informed the police about the disappearance of his mother. And yet, they were told, his father denied everything. He kept telling everyone that his wife went to visit the relatives, or something equally suspicious. Then William stopped going to school and the vanished into thin air. Then, the butler's wife reported that he never came back from work, police knocked on Thomas Harley's door once again. According to him, the butler never showed up at work that day and again the police had no proof to think otherwise.

„Wait," Anna said when they told her everything that the mayor told them. „You said all four of his children were home schooled except for the oldest one," she repeated.

„Yeah?"

„That means they had five children!" Sam shouted quietly from the passenger seat, looking at Anna.

„Yeah?" Dean asked again. Anna opened the files on Sam's laptop and read: „William, Jeremy, Katherine, Marie – Louise, that's four," she said, her brows furrowed.

„He's an old man with dementia, four, five, who cares?" Dean asked, but he didn't fully believe in what he said.

„There are names of midwives that delievered their children," Anna muttered. „Is there a way to see if they're still alive?"

„Yeah," Dean said, „Sammy?" Sam took his laptop from Anna and started typing something fast. Dean and Anna waited patiently, neither of them felt like talking.

To their surprise, two of the midwives were alive, and one of them, just turned 80 and lived at the nursing home for the elderly, right outside the town. The other one was living in Florida, so they headed straight to the nursing home. The drive was okay, but all three of them were impatiently looking forward to talking to the older lady. Were they lucky enough to find some answers there? Anna sighed after Sam and Dean had left her in the car. She didn't insist on going, she hated places like that. Old people were giving her shivers. Well, except for her grandma that she dearly loved. It started raining about an hour ago and Anna was looking out of the wet window of the Impala. She thought she'd find comfort on this trip, that she will get a chance to finally tell someone how scared she is, how much she misses Reese, how much she will miss her grandmother. Sam and Dean had each other and Anna craved to have anyone right now. Her parents were gone, her grandmother was... almost gone, the doctors said it was only a matter of time. Reese – the only „sister" she has ever had was murdered by a freaking ghost, because well, apparently ghosts existed and every horror story she's ever heard of could be true. Her father was raised in an orphan house – they never knew his family and her mother didn't have any siblings. People at work were walking on eggshells around her which drove her crazy even more than the ghosts and monsters. Sam and Dean treated her like the third wheel and she couldn't deny that she was in fact the third wheel. She sighed again when she saw both brothers running to the car. She couldn't see their faces clearly, but something was not right.

„Did you find out anything?" She asked as soon as they shut the doors behind them.

„She said she delivered two babies," Sam said and it was very strange because she could swear she heard excitement in his voice.

„Margaret had twins?" Anna asked with disbelief. Oh great, but... what was the big deal?

„Yup," Dean said, alraedy starting his car. „Guess their names."

„Um... maybe Katherine and Marie – Louise?" She guessed with a frown. „But Katherine was like two years older."

„Exactly. Twin's names were Marie and Louise," Dean said, his eyes looking sternly at the road.

„Oh... I thought she was, you know, one person," Anna told them, confused.

„Margaret gave birth to two girls, Marie and Louise," Sam started. „They were both just fine until weird things started happening around one of them, we're not sure, but we think Louise."

„She was a creepy horror movie kid," Dean added.

„Right," Sam agreed. Anna was listening to the with her eyes wide open.

„So they locked her in the basement and kept her there," Dean said.

„Basement?" Anna asked. She was convinced that this house didn't have a bsement. „Did you... not find anything in the basement?"

„We didn't find the basement," Dean told her, looking at her in the mirror.

„I've realised just now that there's one missing page of the planes of the house that you found," Sam said. „That's probably the basement. They wanted the world to forget about Louise and to never find her."

„That's why they started calling Marie 'Marie – Louise', telling everyone it was just a one giant mistake," he added.

„Wow... did people believe them?" Anna asked with curiousity.

„Apparently some did," Sam said.

„Are we going back to that house now?" She asked. „So that you can find the basement?" Dean silently congratuated her for being smart, as he had no intention to bring her with them to that creepy haunted place.

„Yeah," he said. He knew it was too late to save anyone, but still they had to stop that spirit from killing more people in the future.

Both brothers strated walking towards the house and Anna could barely see them because it was dark and rainy. She pulled her bag to her knees and rested her hands on it. She had to wait for them here, but she felt like she was about to explode. She couldn't sit in plce. She walked out of the car into the dark night, hoping that there were only vengeful spirits in this neighbourhood and not some serial killers. She took one of the salt bags that she had on her and walked hesitantly towards the house. With each step her confidence shrinked. She read that the spirits couldn't get out of the house they were haunting so she guessed she was safe on the road. Still, she had salt in her hand and she was looking around with unease. Suddenly, she heard a loud shriek and a few gun shots. She flinched and her heart started beating even faster, but she didn't move. She didn't run, but she also had no intention on going inside. Sam and Dean wouldn't want her to, anyway. The broken door was moving on the hinges, creaking loudly. The gate she was standing next to opened and Anna stumbled backwards a little. She saw someone with a flashlight inside the house, running to the exit. Suddenly the door shut and she heard someone was trying to open it.

„Anna! Anna!" It was Dean's voice that called her, or maybe it was Sam's? She was too startled to care. She looked around, too scared to move, but one of the men she brought here were calling out for her to help them. She took a few steps forward, but heard a few gunshots again and she stopped.

„Sam? Dean?" She called out loud, her voice trembling a little. She jumped when she heard her phone ringing. Sam Winchester

„Sam?" She said picking up.

„Wrong brother," she heard Dean's snarky voice. „Listen, we've got a problem over here."

„Yeah, I can see that," she said, waiting for further instructions.

„Louise is not here," he said and Anna jumped at the sound of another shot, then a squeak. „We found the basement and the bodies, but she's not here. You have to find where she's burried. We can't leave the house, we're trapped!"

„What, I have to find her grave?" Anna squealed and she could swear her legs were going to give out.

„In the garden there's a big tree with a swing. The body should be under that swing, the shovel's in the car!" He was yelling at this point and Anna heard a tremendous noise that made her tear up.

„Dean, I can't!"

„There's a shovel, salt, gasoline and a lighter in the trunk, you'll fi... you'll find it all," he gasped and Anna ran to the front door, desperately trying to break it. „Stop," she heard him say. „Anna stop!" He yelled and she could hear him both from her phone and from behind the door. „Tree with a swing, a shovel, salt, gasoline, lighter. NOW!"

„Alright!" she was running to the car now, salt spilling everywhere, her heavy bag hitting her hip.

„Hurry up!" Dean said and hang up. Anna cursed, but she knew she couldn't talk to him the whole time, she was going to need both hands.

She took she shovel, a few lighters and she tucked the canister of gasoline under her arm. She took a flashlight and started running. Everything was way too heavy for her, but fortunately adrenaline kicked in and she managed to find the tree. She layed everything on the ground and hit the dirt with the shovel. It wasn't as easy as it seemed. The dirt was soft thanks to the rain, but the swing was in her way. Anna tucked the damn swing behind one of the tree branches and started digging. If it wasn't raining she would be wet from sweat anyway. Her wet hair were getting into hear eyes and she could barely see. Her arms were shaking and not from fear this time, but from exhaustion. Still digging she sobbed loudly as she felt pain soaring between her shoulder blades. What the hell was she doing? Why did she pull herself in the middle of such a mess? She has felt numbness for months now and she desperately wanted to feel something, but why did she chose to feel fear? Why the hell did she start looking around for creepy cases?! She heard shots again and it sobered her up for a second. She dug into the dirt again, rain making it slide from the shovel and she cursed way too loud. She could barely breathe at this point and she silently prayed for this to stop. She was digging for hours, not really, but it felt that way. But then, suddenly the shovel hit something hard and Anna dropped to her knees, her hands moving the dirt away. She didn't have time to panic when her fingertips brushed a dead girl's skeleton. She grabbed her bag of salt. Suddenly, she heard the Winchester's voices. They were running towards her, well, Sam was, Dean was dragging his leg staying a little behind his brother. Anna breathed out with relief, but then she heard their yells.

„Watch out!"

„Behind you!"

Anna turned around abruptly, spilling the salt everywhere. With the corner of her eye she noticed a small girl that immediately vanished, but not for long. She appeared seconds later, only to be shot with a rock salt bullet by Sam. Anna hesitated for a split second, but then she poured salt into the hole she just made. Sam was already by her side, pouring gasoline on the bones and Anna felt her stomach turn upside down. She reached for the lighter, but an invisible force threw her against the tree. Poor Anna had thought that the back pain was bad before. She was so wrong!

Another shot – this time from Dean's gun and Louise disappeared again. Anna crawled back to the hole in the ground, the lighter still in her hand. Little Louise appeared again and Anna fired the lighter and let it fall down. The flame hit the gasoline covered skeleton and in spite of rain the bones lit up. Anna trembled, Sam pulled her away from the edge of the hole and Dean fell to the floor crawling to them. His leg was bleeding, but he was already wrapping it with a bandana. Anna's legs finally went numb and she also hit the ground, right next to Dean.

She felt the pleasant warmth of the burning corpse and it made her sick to think how much she wanted to stand there just to keep warm. The air smelled awfully and Anna felt her stomach tighten. She tried to take a few deep breaths, but it made it even worse. She wanted to crawl away from them, but she didn't go very far and she threw up, her hair everywhere, but she was too busy hugging herself to hold her hair back. She coughed and tried to breathe, but she felt that smell again and the heat from the fire was too much to handle. She vomited again, but this time she felt someone pulling her dirty hair back. Once she was done, she felt a different set of arms pick her up from the ground. She stood on her feet swaying slightly, but she knew she had to walk to the car by herself, Dean probably needed more help that she did. She was wrong. Dean was already standing on both legs, the injured one wrapped up tightly.

„Good job, Annie" she heard Dean's voice. „Come on, let's go to the car," he said and picked her heavy bag from the ground. Sam gave her the gasoline canister and the flashlight that at some point stopped working and told her softly to help Dean go back to the car. Sam had to stay behind to clean up the mess they did. She nodded, but it turned out that Dean needed to help her, holding her hair two more times. When they reached the car he gave her a bottle of water and she took it without a word. Dean knew better than to start a conversation.

„How's your leg?" She finally asked when she got caught staring on his bloody bandana.

„I've had worse," he told her and she suddenly felt like a child that made a fuss about scratching her knee. She wasn't even injured and she made a scene and threw up everything she's eaten this week. Or so it seemed. And Dean had to suck it up because she fell into pieces. She felt her eyes tearing up again as she realised they will drive her home now and she would have be all alone with the images of little Louise, with the feeling of her bones under her fingertips.

„Are you okay?" Dean asked her and Anna chuckled. Seriously, did he have to ask? It was obvious that she was a mess, but she knew he was asking her about injuries.

„Yeah," she whispered, drinking from the bottle.

„I've got whiskey in the trunk," he told her and she looked at him, shaking her head. With the corner of her eye she saw Sam walking towards them, his face was covered in blood, but the rain was taking care of it. Otherwise he seemed fine.

„Do you um..." Dean started, „Do you wanna sit in the front seat?" He asked in a feeble attempt to lift her spirits up. She shook her head again, but she smiled this time. He smiled back.

„It's over now," he told her and that was all she wanted to hear. „Annie, you saved us, you know?" She closed her eyes and let the tears fall down her cheeks.

„I told you to come here in the first place," she whispered.

„Good," Dean said. „Louise won't kill anyone anymore. We found bodies. Lots of them," he added. „Her mother killed her when she caught Louise choking Marie. They burried her under the swing in case they needed to explain the lack of grass there. But then Louise's spirit killed her mother, the butler, and then the whole family. And everyone that came to that house. The man we saw earlier wanted to warn us," Dean explained.

„How do you know?"

„We found a journal. William was the second last one to die. He was taking notes this whole time."

„And who was last?" She asked out of curiousity.

„Thomas, her father."

„Right," Anna said and Sam took his passenger seat, finally joining them.

„All good?" Sam asked looking at Dean and Anna. They both nodded, Dean started the car.

„Ouch," he muttered, looking for something in his pockets. „Painkillers anyone?" He asked and both Sam and Anna shook their heads. He swallowed some and turned the radio on. Anna focused on the song instead of thinking about what was going to happen now. She had a few more hours to enjoy someone's company and then she would be left alone again. She saved them. She got a feeling that Dean wouldn't lie to her about this. She closed her eyes and in no time she was asleep, her aching body relaxing. The adrenaline ran out by now and Anna's mind was already drifiting in a tiring world of hazy memories of this night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna finds another case!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for mistakes! I am trying my best, but English is not my first language and I mix up tenses and stuff :(

Warnings: nudity, death, hunting, canon typical violence

Anna woke up in the morning with a pounding headache, sore muscles and terrifying memories of the last night. When the Winchesters drove her to her flat, she numbly went to her apartament and laid on the bed, too tired to move. She didn’t shower then and right now she was regretting it. The sheets were muddy and she could still feel her wet shoes on her feet. She should have at least taken them off. 

The huge clock on the wall showed 10:54. Anna grabbed her phone that was still in the back pocket of her jeans. 7 missed calls from her supervisor. Great. He agreed for one day off, not two. Anna groaned and got up, feeling soaring pain in the muscles she didn’t know she had. She went to the bathroom and took off her shoes and socks. There was dirt behing her fingernails and she inhaled sharply at the memory of how it got there. She trembled at the thought of that little skeleton under her hands. What would she give to forget about it. She took the rest of her clothes off and turned around in front of the mirror to see purple bruises on her back from when the nasty spirit threw her at the damn tree. Then she walked into the shower, straight under the stream of hot water. She tried to wash off the dirt from everywhere and after a few minutes her skin was red and burning, but she didn’t stop. The water was cold and the shower gel bottle was empty when Anna involuntarily climbed out of the shower. Wrapped in the towel she stood in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. Nothing has changed, but somehow she felt different. And only Sam and Dean could understand why. She jumped at the sound of her phone ringing.

„Hello?” She answered with a raspy voice.

„Anna Jackson?”

„Yes,” she said, „who is this?”

„My name is Kathleen Turner, I’m a nurse at the Central Hospital,” said the nurse and Anna trembled, water dripping from her wet hair straight to the floor. She knew what happened before she heard it. „I am sorry to inform you that your grandmother passed...”

Anna didn’t pay attention to the rest of the words. Her phone slipped from her shaking hand straight into the sink, a crack appearing on the screen. She didn’t feel like crying. She didn’t know why. Maybe she cried too much last night? She felt an overwhelming pain in her chest as the memories and news about her grandmother mixed. At least her back stopped hurting, emotional pain taking over the physical. But still pain was pain and it made it hard to breathe. Her vision was blurry and Anna could no longer see her red and swollen face in the mirror. She dropped down to the wet floor and wrapped her arms around her legs, rocking involuntarily. She closed her eyes and her mind focused on the pain in her chest again. It seemed to spread everywhere now, but Anna knew it will finally pass and she’ll feel numb again. She couldn’t wait for it. She sat on the floor for over an hour, but she knew she had to get up and go to the hospital and a funeral house. After that time she finally got up, the towel long forgotten on the floor. She wiped the floor with it and then kicked it to where her shoes and clothes were. She looked at the pile for a second, then she picked it up rushing out of the bathroom threw it into the trash. She walked up to her closet, picking random clothes, got dressed and grabbed the bag she took yesterday for the damn haunted house case. She pulled out her wallet and stuck it into her pocket, then came to the bathroom again to grab her phone. She looked at her reflection again. Why did she still look the same after everything had changed?

Six days. That’s how much time have passed until the funeral. It could have been sooner, but Anna spent two days laying on the floor of her grandmother’s bathroom. Right now she was standing on the graveyard, her still bruised back was burning in the black dress she had on. She recovered the ability to cry, tears falling down her cheeks. „You’re stronger than you think you are, Anna. It’s all gonna be okay, Darling.” She could her her granny’s voice in her head. That’s what she told her a few days before her death. But Anna wasn’t strong. And it wasn’t going to be okay. A few people hugged her, offered a comforting word, but Anna despised every single person that came to the funeral. Why didn’t they just leave her to mourn in peace? But then, she craved every single tap on the shouler, every hand rubbing her hurting back. She didn’t really know what she wanted anymore. Her grandma never told her what to do, so Anna was used to making her own decisions, but she always offered a word of wisdom that guided her when she was unsure. Now Anna didn’t even have that. She sighed, wiped her wet face and headed towards the gate. Nothing good could come out of her standing there for too long.

At home she sat at the table with a bottle of wine in her hand and opened her laptop. She didn’t bother using a glass, drinking straight from the bottle. She typed a few words in the search bar.

Best haunted house in Florida!

LA is not just Casinos...

Survive an hour in a horror movie

Anna sighed. That wasn’t was she was looking for. She typed again. After reading a few useless articles she had finally found something interesting. South Dakota, small town, 7 people went missing during the last month. Apparently they went into the woods and never came back. After some time, Anna knew their name and age as well as where they worked or studied, even found their photos as the information about them was public and everyone was still looking for them. Maybe it wasn’t a case for Sam and Dean, but the police were helpless. And it was certainly a great excuse to call the Winchesters so she dialed Dean’s number. And no, he didn’t answer. Anna sighed, bringing the bottle to her lips again. It was probably for the better. She needed to sell the inherited house, pay some loans and most importantly find a job. She didn’t get fired fortunately, but her supervisor made her sign a request for an unpaid leave. She didn’t blame him, after all the job needed to be done and she was failing at it miserably. She was welcome to come back after she pulls herself together, but Anna needed a change. Cutting her hair with her grandma’s huge tailor scissors didn’t help. At that memory Anna started playing with her hair that ended right above her shoulder now. She got up, placing the almost full bottle on the table. She didn’t even want to drink more. She shut her laptop and went to bed, the remains of the salt circle still on the floor. She knew sleep wouldn’t come easily, but waiting for it was still better than waiting for nothing.

It was 9 a.m. and Anna was laying in her bed, looking at the ceiling. Her phone buzzed on the bedside table and she groaned, but reached for it.

„Hello?” She asked, not bothering to try to read the caller ID as her broken screen was slowly becoming unreadable as the crack widened.

„Hey, it’s Dean, you called, are you okay?” She heard him ask.

„Yeah, I’m good,” she said and got up from the bed.

„Alright, we thought... nevermind, what’s up?” He asked, relieved that she wasn’t eaten by a monster on a solo hunting mission.

„Oh, I found a possible case and I thought you may want to get a closer look at it,” she confessed unsurely.

„A case again?” Dean asked, not knowing what to tell her as he and Sam were already on their way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to their uncle Bobby.

„Well yes,” she said. „People are going missing in South Dakota. They walk in a forest and never come back,” she told them. Dean cursed silently. They’re going to South Dakota, the job’s in South Dakota...

„Alright, we’re on it,” he said and Anna smiled for the first time in a week.

„I’ll email everything I found,” she told him and ran to her laptop. „Where are you?”

„In the car,” he said not wanting to tell her. She would probably meet them at the given address anyways, but who said he had to make it easy for her?

„Ha ha,” she rolled her eyes. „Come on, Dean. You know I don’t want anything more than waiting in the car as you solve the case!”

And he knew it was true, but the last time sitting in the car ended up with digging out a creepy ghost kid skeleton that could have easily kill them all. Dean was confused again why Anna, the sensitive and permanently scared young woman found them a case again. Something told him that in fact, she was stronger than she looked and very, very unaware of that.

Sam read everything Anna sent him aloud, giving Dean a chance to find out what they were getting into. Apparently in a small town just 60 miles away from Sioux Falls people were going missing. Most witnesses as well as the police claimed that they were last seen in or near the forest. The last victim, Tony was a teenage boy who went for a walk with his dog. The dog was seen on a camera installed in the local park nerby the woods, it was running our of that forest, the leash loose behind him. Sam was particulary interested in what Tony’s grandfather told the police. He claimed that the old lumberman from his childhood stories must have taken him. Anna also found a local lore or something of that sort on a highschool website. It was posted by Mark O’Neill for the Memorial Day, just a few months ago and the title said „What everybody knew about this town, but were too scared to admit”. Apparently Mark’s grandmother used to tell him stories about this forest. It was said that whoever walked into it, never came back. An old lumberman, a scary, nameless man lived like a hermit, alone in a small wooden shack in the woods and kidnapped everyone who dared to step their foot in that forest. He was believed to be kidnapping people and then killing them with his axe. In the lore it was clearly said that you can only save yourself if you manage to take the axe from him, slicing his body with it. Sam winced at that thought. He didn’t knew any creatures that would be put down by slicing their bodies with axe. His bet was on a ghost or some kind of a forest pagan god.

„What are you thinking?” He asked Dean and his brother sighed.

„Ghost? Anna likes ghosts,” he told him, but it didn’t quite fit this time.

„Yeah, maybe,” Sam agreed. „A shack haunted by a hermit who probably died alone and is kidnapping people for company?”

„Come on, we’ve had weirder,” Dean laughed. „And they never found the bodies?” He asked Sam to confirm.

„Yeah...”

„Honestly it can be anything, even vampires or djins,” he noticed. And he was right. He wasn’t sure what they were up against. Not that Anna’s files weren’t good. They were. But still most of the times files weren’t enough to determine what supernatural creature they were dealing with.

„I guess it has something to do with that lore,” Sam told him. „It doesn’t have to be a ghost, but a pagan god maybe?”

„Maybe,” Dean said and tried to put all pieces of this mystery togther.

He was also worried about what to do with Anna. They had no choice but to search the forest that could take hours and she’d probably go crazy sitting on her butt in a car for that long. Maybe they should get a room in one of the cheapest motels in town? It seemed to be a good idea, especially that they wouldn’t reach Sioux Falls before dusk and going into the haunted forest at night, possibly with Anna was a really bad idea. That’s what they did. Despite Dean’s comments about not helping the trouble chasing girl, Sam texted her the motel’s address. They got a suite that in a cheap motel meant one big, but not really comfortable bed, a very narrow bed and an awful couch that was standing in the kitchenette preventing anyone from opening the little fridge. After losing at paper, rock, scissors Dean put his bag on the couch. Sam could take the king size bed, but he thought it would be kinder to leave it Anna. She got to the motel two hours after them, it was still a miracle she managed to catch the bus. She wanted the smaller bed, knowing she probably won’t get much sleep, but Sam insisted she should take the other one. She didn’t come prepared this time, didn’t even have anything to change into. Now she felt stupid about coming here.

„You can shower first if you want to,” Dean told her when he caught her staring blankly into... well, nothing.

„Thanks,” she said, but didn’t feel like getting up. Sure, she needed a shower, she felt sweaty after a long drive here in a bus without air conditioning, but she rather just sit and do nothing. Anna felt his eyes on her and she slowly got up, picking up a grey, formely white towel from her bed.

„You may wanna take that,” he told her giving her a bottle of shower gel. They usually had crappy luck and had no soap in their motel bathrooms. This time was no different.

„Thanks,” she said, smiling awkwardly.

„Sammy has a hair conditioner if you want to,” he said and Sam glared at him.

„I’m good,” she said, her hair was an uneven mess anyway, but Sam got up and gave her the bottle.

„Thanks,” she said awkwardly, but she knew that using it was way too much for her to handle right now.

„Is it just me or you have less hair than the last time we saw you?” Dean asked in a joking manner.

„Yeah,” she said with a chuckle. „Now you wouldn’t have to hold it when I puke,” she added before she could stop herself. Dean grinned.

„Suits you,” he told her, still smiling and Anna just nodded with a smile. He turned around to look for the remote and she went to the bathroom.

The lights were turned out and Anna was trying to occupy her mind with some pinterest pictures. It would be better if her phone didn’t have a nasty scratch on it. Sam and Dean were sleeping and she couldn’t fell asleep if her life depended on it. She had to admit though that their presence in the room was comforting and she was glad they didn’t get her a different room. Thanks to their steady breaths she knew she wasn’t alone.

„What are you still doing up?” She heard Dean’s quiet voice, almost a whisper. So she was wrong. He wasn’t asleep. „Come on, everybody needs at least five hours of beauty sleep,” he told her.

„I thought it was eight,” she said.

„Well, eight is overrated,” he told her and something was telling her that he has experienced some insomnia too. „So?”

„I don’t like it when it’s dark,” she told him quietly. „Not since... you know.”

„When Sammy was a kid he told dad he’s afraid of the dark,” Dean said, smiling sadly at the memory. „He have him a 45.”

Anna winced, her brows furrowed. That guy should have read parenting 101.

„I don’t have a spare now, but...” he shifted on the sofa, looking for something in his bag now. „Aha! But I’ve got this.”

Anna couldn’t see what he held in his hand and silently cursed the damned darkness again, but he got up, walking towards her bed. He gave her a small knife and she took it from him hesitantly.

„It’s silver,” he whispered. He smelled like alcohol, but Anna could tell he wasn’t drunk. „It’s not gonna work on ghosts, but on some other things – yes.”

„Thank you,” she said. She knew it would be rude to say that it didn’t make her feel any better, so she didn’t. She would feel better if he turned the lights on.

„Look, don’t get me wrong,” he started. „I’m not going to tell you what you are getting into because I think you get the idea that hunting is the fucking opposite of the apple pie life, also I’m not going to help you get into this mess,” he said. „But I’m afraid that this time your salt bag is not enough.” Dean walked up to his sleeping spot and laid down.

„Goodnight,” he said and Anna finally let go of her phone. She had to suck it up. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply a few times, her tired body ached as she tried to relaxed it. She finally fell asleep, but unfortunately it wasn’t a peaceful, dreamy land.

It was almost noon when Sam and Dean stopped interrogating witnesses. Anna was waiting in the car, sipping coffee from a plastic cup and playing with her knife a little. She wondered if he would want it back after this case was over. She didn’t notice when the brothers left the house of the last victim and jumped lightly when Dean opened the door and got into the car. Sam sat down on the passenger seat and they both started telling her what they found out. Apparently the tale of the old lumberman was an old lore that everyone from this town heard, but it was most popular about seventy years ago and all older people were were taking it very seriously. They didn’t really find out anything new, but Anna listened to everything the brothers had to say.

„So this is what we know,” Dean said, driving down the avenue towards the forest. „70 years ago an old lubmerman was kidnapping people in the woods. Except noone disappeared through these years and 7 people disappeared just this month. And noone knew his name? Not even the name?!” Dean was worried now because they still had no idea what that was. Maybe it wasn’t even anything supernatural.

„That’s right,” Anna said. „Noone knew anything, that man was a fucking mystery. If he was real, I mean.”

„That’s it! If he was real!” Dean said, looking at his brother.

„Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Sam asked and his brother nodded. It was strange, but they understood each other without words now.

„What?” Anna asked from the backseat.

„It was a tale 70 years ago, probably to prevent kids from going into the forest,” Sam started.”But then, about a month ago Mark O’Neill posted it on the school website. Maybe not many people read that website, but guess what. I have just checked that short horror story site on facebook, it’s very popular, has lots of followers and it turns out that a much scarier version of that story was posted on that site three weeks ago. It says an old lumberman appears out of nowhere and takes people to his shack. And then he kills them.”

„So?” Anna was still confused.

„So a tulpa,” Dean told her. „It’s basically an idea. Lots of people believe in it and it comes to life.”

„Oh...” Anna gasped. „So ideas are now deadly too. How... How do you kill an idea?”

„I asked the exact same question once!” Dean said.

„And?”

„And we’re not sure,” Sam responded. „In that tale it’s said you can kill the lumberman with his axe, so I would try that, but after some time the tulpa can live its own life, not relaying on the story anymore.”

„The last time that happened we just burnt the whole house the tulpa... haunted, from the lack of a better word,” Dean told her.

Anna’s face expression was blank, but she was startled. Again. With the corner of her eye she could see that they passed the motel and her brows furrowed. Didn’t they want her to stay in the room? She gulped, her throat closing in panic. She opened her mouth to tell him to drive her back to the motel, but instead she just took a deep breath. That’s what she wanted in that twisted head of hers. She wanted to be with them, not alone in that ugly motel room. She could do it, right? No, she couldn’t. She most definitely couldn’t go to a freaking forest with an idea that was kidnapping people and slicing them with an axe. But it was too late. Dean stopped the car. Anna’s breath fastened at the thought of getting out of it. But she wouldn’t say alone in a car parked on the edge of the woods. Both brothers stepped out of the car and she followed them quickly.

„Didn’t we agree on something on the phone?” Dean asked her, not letting her go any further.

„Right, but I am not going to stay in the car alone, you parked too close to the forest!” She opposed. „So you can drive me back to the motel or I am not leaving your side.” She told him, her stern voice surprised her.

„Whatever,” he said and all three of them walked into the forest.

Both Sam and Dean were carrying small bags, all neccesities inside them. They walked down the path, looking for an old shack, dead bodies, or the tulpa. Anna was looking around hesitantly, her arms crossed on her chest.

„Annie, now listen,” Dean said seeing her distress. He was mad at himself for not thinking it through and not driving her to that damn motel. „You have to stay close to us, alright?” She nodded, not wanting them to let her out of their sight. „And if we tell you something, you do it. Understand?” She nodded again. „Oh – huh...”

„What?” She asked, her eyes opened wide. The path they walked now split into two.

„We better split,” Sam told her. „I’ll take the right path. Be careful,” he said looking at Dean and took a few steps to the right.

„No,” she opposed. „Shouldn’t we stick together? It’s... it’s not safe for Sam to go alone!”

„What, do you wanna go alone?” Dean asked with a grin and she glared at him. If he gave her the option to go with Sam she probably would.

„Be careful, Sammy,” Dean told him and Sam nodded. They separated. Anna walked right next to Dean who walked a bit too fast for her taste. Also, he hasn’t said a word since they parted and it was getting on her nerves. Sure, she could say something, but he looked like he wasn’t going to respond anyway. So they walked in silence. From time to time something squeaked, clicked or crashed and Dean could see Anna jump from time to time.

„Why do you look for those cases?” Dean asked and she could hear annoyance and maybe a little curiousity in his voice.

„I don’t know,” she said. It was just partially true. She wanted to be close to Sam and Dean, but she didn’t know why.

„What, your friend died and suddenly you decided to drop everything and get into hunting monsters?” He asked. „ Sorry, Annie, but don’t you have better things to do?” He looked at her, his gaze questioning. Anna shrugged.

„Not really,” she told him. She preferred when he was silent.

„And when your granny asks where you were... what do you tell her?”

„She’s dead.” Anna said and almost flinched at the sound of it. „And if I didn’t know any better I would say dead don’t ask questions... but I guess you’ve seen that happen.”

„I did.” He told her. „And I’m sorry,” Dean said, still going deeper into the forest.

„Yeah, me too,” Anna admitted. „She was the only family that I had left. Well... Reese’s parents told me they’d welcome me with open arms if I ever needed anything, but I can barely look at them.”

„Is the investigation open?” Dean asked.

„Yes. After they found Matt they stopped thinking it was a suicide,” she told him and Dean felt sorry for her. There were so many people he couldn’t look in the eye too.

„So they don’t know what killed their daughter,” Dean concluded.

„And I know,” she said bitterly and looked at him. „I guess having someone around... someone who understands is just nice.”

„Hey, no chick flick moments!” Dean told her and she sighed. She was pretty sure Sam wouldn’t mind her talking about this. Dean was a mystery to her. It was clear what he thought and felt at the moment, but his attitude to her changed or maybe was just too difficult to decode. Sure, he didn’t want her here, he made it clear he was not going to help her, but he gave her the knife she had in her back pocket and he could relate to her.

„And how did you start hunting?” She asked him. „Who told you about monsters? You dad?”

„Yes,” Dean responded, „He trained me and Sammy since we were kids.”

„Why are you still doing it? Do you like it?”

„Yeah, I can’t live a different life, I don’t know how,” Dean said with something more than sadness in his voice. „But I’m screwed in the head so don’t look up to me,” he said and tensed, pulling out his gun.

„Get behind me!” He told her sharply. Anna squealed a little and almost bumped into him. She could hear some rustling next to them and Dean pointed his the gun at the bush. He hoped silver bullets would slow whatever that was down. Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him, pressing her back into the nearby tree. He shielded her with his broad shoulders, the gun still pointed at the noise.

„Is that it?” Anna whispered, looking around anxiously. And then she saw it. A figure of a man, axe in his hand. Well, she saw something in his hand and she guessed it was the axe. Dean fired the gun.

„Run!” He yelled, and Anna felt her feet hitting the litter before she knew she was doing it. So that was survival instinct, right?

She didn’t have the chance to make a noise before something grabbed her abruptly from behind. She was pretty sure she heard a distant gunshot, but maybe it was just a rustle? She didn’t have time to decide before she felt a force pulling her backwards and everything went dark.

Anna felt like waking up on a very bad morning. She was feeling a bit dizzy. She tried to keep her eyes open, but there was something in the air that made them sting. And what was that terrible smell? She finally managed to keep her eyes open long enough to see where she was. She was sitting on a floor in a room. The light was dim, coming from a small bulb that was hanging on a thin wire. There was a table in the middle, a few chairs, an old, dirty fireplace, an arm... Anna’s eyes opened wide. An arm. And blood all over the floor. She jerked, fully awake now. There were bodies on the floor, blood was spreyed all over the walls. There were bodies right next to her, propped up against the wall next to her. Anna tried to free herself, but then she realised she was tied to a pole, or maybe to a pipe with a thick rope. And so were the other bodies... or maybe those people were still alive? Yes, they were, and they were also tied up. She could feel the rope was digging into her wrists. She felt pure terror. She was in the lumberman’s shack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Feedback is appreciated :)  
> ~missafairy


	4. Chapter 4

Anna could feel the rope was digging into her wrists. She felt pure terror. She was in the lumberman’s shack.

From what she could see, the people beside her were two girls, one was awake, sobbing, the other and the young man were still unconscious. She could tell that the four of them were the only living people in that shack at the moment. Wherever the lumberman was, he wasn’t here and she prayed it stayed that way. She started kicking and squirming and pulling at the restrains, but she wasn’t getting anywhere near freeing herself. Tears started streaming down her face.

„Hey!” Anna heard a quiet squeak and looked at the sobbing girl, her vision blurry.

„Hey,” she whispered. What was she supposed to do? Talk to the girl that would die just as soon as Anna herself, sliced into pieces by a tulpa?

„He’s going to kill us!” Yelled the girl with terror in her voice. At that sound, the man started moving slightly too. The other girl gasped and struggled to open her eyes just like Anna did before. Well yes. The lumberman was going to kill them all. ‘What would Dean do?’ Anna wondered. Right. Dean and Sam. If they weren’t here, they were looking for this shack. But it was already dark outside... were they still in the forest? They wouldn’t leave her, right? ‘How long have I been unconscious?’ Anna thought. She pulled at the ropes again. If she could only rip them! But... she could cut them. Her fingers slipped into the backpocket of her black jeans and a ray of hope shone in her mind. Dean’s knife.

„Well, he’s not here at the moment,” Anna told the sobbing girl and carefully pulled out the short knife. She was holding it tightly in her hands. „What’s your name?” She asked.

„Gina,” the girl gasped between sobs.

„I’m Anna,” she said, her hand moving behind her back to cut through the thick rope. It wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be, but she couldn’t give up. The knife was sharp and it was just a plain rope. She needed to try to get out. Hoping the lumberman was still far away, she gritted her teeth and continued to cut.

„Wilson,” the man told them. „Nice to meet you before we die,” he said and started kicking and pulling with all his strength.

„What about you?” Anna asked.

„Lena,” Lena said and also started sobbing. Anna couldn’t blame her. She was not sure what she’s using more strength on - cutting the ropes or stopping herself from crying and panicking.

„Oh my god!” she squealed. „Tony...” Lena’s voice cracked and Anna knew she must be seing something she couldn’t from her angle. „We were in class together. Oh no...”

Tony was the last victim Anna heard of before she became a victim herself.

„He was bringing you here, one by one.” Gina told them. „He’s gonna be back soon!”

„Gina!” Anna called her. This girl needed to stop crying becasue every sob made Anna’s throat tighten in panic. And if she panicked she wouldn’t be able to think straight and cutting those damned ropes required a freaking strategy. „Everybody’s looking for us!” She said. Was that a lie? Sam and Dean were searching through the forest. They were kind of everybody who knew about the tulpa.

„And what?” Wilson asked. „If the lumberman comes back, we’re dead.”

Wilson was right. That’s why Anna needed to work on those restrains. She stopped listening to the rest of the group, focusing on the cramping pain in her right hand. Her hand was slowly giving up on the whole rope cutting idea. Anna had no idea how long they have been sitting in there, but Gina stopped sobbing, Wilson stopped kicking and yelling and Lena was... well, pretty much what she has been doing ever since she woke up which was staring blankly into Tony’s dead face. It was a much brighter now that it was before, Anna guessed it was past 7 o’clock, the sun was coming up slowly. The flickering light in the room mixed with sunrays and the room looked even more scary than it did before as the faint shapes further on the floor turned out to be dead bodies. Anna switched her hands a few times in that time, feeling that the ropes were finally starting to be loose. She wiggled her hands, cut a little more and then wiggled them again. She did it! She jumped from the floor, three surprised people turned their heads towards them. Anna was already cutting on Wilson’s ropes. It didn’t even take a minute now.

„Get out of here,” Anna told him and Wilson rushed to the door. It was locked, but it was also made of rotten wood. He kicked it a few times and it was already open by the time Lena reached it.

Anna’s mind made everything foggy so that she could let her survival instincts take over. She couldn’t hear Gina’s screams, or Wilson’s shouts to hurry up. She could however hear the strange rustling. The lumberman was coming! With the corner of her eye she saw that Wilson and Lena were no longer waiting for her and Gina, she assumed they must be running away from the tulpa.

„Gina stop moving, I have to cut through the rope,” Anna begged her. Everything in her wanted to run, but she needed to free Gina and give her a chance too.

„He’s here!” She yelled and kicked again, Anna was startled with the sudden motion, especially after telling Gina not to move. She could feel Gina’s blood under her fingers, but she finally freed her too. Anna pulled her up to her feet and they took a few steps towards the door. The lumberman was too close. Anna stopped and called Gina to do so, but Gina didn’t hear her. Anna took a few steps back from the door. She could see the figure of the lumberman, a black haired woman in his arms. ‘Another victim’, Anna thought.

„Gina!” She squeaked. „Come here!” She said running toward the window. Her brain ignored the fact she stepped on someone’s palm and tripped over a leg. She opened the window quickly even though it wasn’t that easy. She started climbing out, but turned around when she heard a loud scream. Gina didn’t make it. Anna stumbled forward and her feet hit the moss. Stumbling on her shaking legs she was running away from the shack. Suddenly she felt a hand grabbing her. The lumberman was holding her jacket in a firm grip. High on adrenaline, Anna unzipped her jacket, letting the creature pull it off her. She ducked away and in that moment the axe hit the spot she was just standing in. Anna stumbled and laying on the ground, she satrted craling away from the tulpa that was walking towards her, the axe in its hand. And then the tulpa did a stupid thing. Anna saw the lumberman took a swing and ducked again, the axe hitting the soft moss an inch from her face. Anna jumped up garbbing the axe with her hands. She was the one taking a swing now. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but hitting the lumberman in the chest felt... terrible. Still in shock, Anna pulled the axe out using all her strength. She swayed on her feet, turned and started running. The axe was heavy in her tired arms, but she wouldn’t let it go. It could have been the only way to kill that damn thing. Dean’s silver bullets didn’t work before. Anna ran through the forest, calling out Sam’s and Dean’s names. She needed to find them. She saw a path and started running towards it. It had to lead somewhere, probably out of the woods. Anna looked back a few times, but the lumberman was not behind her anymore. She kept running.

„Anna!” She heard a rather unfamiliar voice. She turned her head and saw Wilson, he was kneeling in the grass, maybe two feet away from the path.

„Wilson!” She yelled and ran towards him, seeing Lena on the ground.

„She hurt her leg,” he explained. „I tried to carry her, but...” he looked at the bloody axe. „Is he dead?”

„No,” she said. „Are you hurt?” She asked Wilson and he shook his head. „Then you have to help her out of here,” she said sternly. She hoped that with tears streaming down her face she still was able to take the tulpa down, but she couldn’t see very clearly anymore. She didn’t see what was wrong with Lena’s leg. „And Lena, you have to help him. Get up!” Anna said.

Lena slowly got up from the ground, her arm around Wilson’s neck.

„Alright, just... jump, alright?” She pleaded Lena. „I know it hurts, but you have to try.”

Lena started jumping to the path, Wilson was helping her to maintain balance. Anna was looking around looking for the lumberman.

„Hey, I forgot we can call 911!” Lena said loudly, still jumping along the path. She pulled out her phone and checked if it was still working. It was!

„Lena, my friends are in this forest,” Anna said. „They... they are FBI, they were looking for the missing people, I... um... I asked them to check this place out. Let me call them.”

„I don’t know...”

„They are good agents, the best, they talked to the police and... they are here, I know they are,” Anna was begging her now. Too bad her own damaged phone must have fallen out somewhere. Righ, she had in in her jacket pocket. „Please, trust me.”

„Alright, try it, there’s no service anyway,” she gave Anna the phone and Anna dialed Sam’s number. She got some signal, but she had to stay behind so that she wouldn’t lose it. Wilson kept walking with Lena jumping at his side. Noone mentioned Gina. They must have known she would be here if she managed to get out. Sam picked up. Finally!

„It’s Anna!” She shouted to the phone before he managed to say anything. „Where are you?”

„Anna!” She heard Sam’s voice and her eyes watered again, „We’re still in the woods, we’re looking for you!”

„I’m on a path, but I don’t know where,” she said, her voice raspy. Suddenly, she heard a loud shot, then another one, then some yelling on the phone. „Sam?”

„I think we found the shack,” she heard him say. Anna turned around, losing signal. If they found the shack, they were close. She was pretty sure she would be able to find them. The tulpa brought there another person, who knows if that woman was able to get out herself. Who knows if she was still alive. But Anna had the axe so there was a chance the lumberman didn’t kill her.

„Sam?” She called out to the phone, but it was too late, the call disconnected.

„Are you coming or what?” Wilson yelled to her from afar.

„Stay here!” She shouted back and started running into the forest again. She could hear the both of them cursing her and calling for her to come back. Anna was running between the trees, her chest on fire, the air she was inhaling was not enough for her lungs to fill. Anna heard rustling and she stopped abruptly, the axe in her hands. She turned around a few times, cutting the air around her.

„Sam!” She shouted with all her strength.

„Anna!” She heard a strange voice, realising it was both brothers calling her in unison. She started walking towards their voices, breathing heavily. And then she saw them, running to her and she laughed histerically, her legs giving out. Her knees hit the ground, the axe almost slipped out of her hand, but she squeezed her fingers around the handle. Anna felt safer now, and she let out a breath of relief. Suddenly she saw a blurry figure in front of her and when she realised it was the lumberman, she raised the axe with her shaking arms. She took a swing and she was pretty sure she hit it in the leg, but then the figure disappeared. She tried to get up, but she was shaking too much and the axe was dragging her back down. The next thing she knew Sam was helping her on her feet.

„Are you hurt?” He asked.

„No, I...” she knew he was asking about the dried blood on her hands from when she accidently cut Gina’s wrist instead of the rope. „It’s not mine,” she told him, adverting her gaze.

„You have his axe?” Dean said, surprise in his voice, his brows furrowed.

„Uh – huh,” Anna mumbled. She was standing on her own now, her knuckles white from the effort it took to hold the handle. She raised the axe and handled it to him. „I don’t think I’m able to slice him. It. The tulpa,” she stuttered.

„Alright,” Dean told her, taking the axe. He was going to cut the damn thing into pieces.

„Were you in the shack?” She asked, her breathing still way too fast, making her feel dizzy.

„No,” Dean responded. „We heard you and we saw the tulpa so we started chasing it.”

„I think there’s someone there...” Anna told them, taking a few steps towards the wooden house. She hesitated for a second before going in. Sam and Dean looked at each other and followed her inside. They have seen awful things before and nothing could really startle them anymore, but when they smelled the odor of the corpses they knew that it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Suddenly, the door shut behind them and the three of them turned abruptly. The lumberman was standing there, Anna noticed his chest and leg were sliced from the axe, but the wounds weren’t bleeding. She wanted to run, she probably could get out from there through the window again, but Dean was already slamming the axe into the tulpa’s chest much harder than Anna did before. The lumberman shrieked and stumbled backwards, and Dean kept going. Anna could see how much strength he has in his arms, he was swinging the axe with ease. The tulpa finally fell to the wooden floor that was covered in dried blood, and Dean took the one last swing, it’s head parting from the body. Then something strange happened. The head and the body started slowly turning into a grey powder, Sam thought it looked like ash. Then the ash started disappearing, puffing in the air until there was nothing left.

„Is it gone?” Anna asked.

„Looks like it,” he responded.

Anna saw the woman the tulpa brought here earlier and she started walking towards her, carefully passing by Gina’s body, trying not to look at it. Sam and Dean were watching her trembling figure, letting her cut the rope on the brunette’s wrists. Dean saw his knife in her hand and he realised that this stupid silver knife was the reason why she was still alive. The woman got up from the floor, and Anna lead her to the shack’s door. Dean looked around at the masacre and moved so that the woman could go outside.

„Did you touch anything here?” Dean asked Anna and she looked at him with confusion.

„Do you think you could have left fingerprints here?” Sam asked and Anna nodded.

„This window, the pipe over there,” she told them, pointing. Sam was already wiping her fingerprints hoping that this would be enough.

„Alright,” Dean said. „Can we head back?” He asked, stepping outside of the smelly cabin.

„Yes, please,” the woman responded and started walking towards the path eagerly, following Anna.

„We should be going this way,” Dean told them, pointing to his right. Sam stood by his side.

„Wilson and Lena are there, they’ll get lost” Anna said, her voice cracking. „Lena hurt her leg, she can’t walk,” she said and Dean just nodded, he and Sam following her without another word.

The woman – Theresa – didn’t ask a single question about what happened in the shack, she was glad that Anna, Sam and Dean found her and maybe she was too shocked back there to notice that the lumberman vanished into thin air. She was walking fast, Anna almost couldn’t keep up with her.

„How much further?” Dean asked.

„I’m not sure, it seemed close at the time, or maybe they went that far away,” she told him. „I didn’t know where to go, I saw them running in that direction and I followed...”

„That’s fine, we’ll find them,” he assured her.

„Or maybe we got lost...” she panicked, but then she saw her jacket laying on the ground.

„I guess that means we didn’t,” Dean told her when she picked the jacket up. Anna started running, she could see the path now. All three of them followed her, more than ready to find Wilson and Lena and get out the damn forest.

„Wilson!” Anna yelled, running. „Lena!” she tried to yell, but her squeezing throat didn’t let her.

„Anna?” she heard a male voice and she saw someone getting up from the ground, not that far away from her.

„Anna!” She heard Lena’s hopeful voice.

„It’s alright, we’ll get you out of here!” Sam shouted and started walking faster. Anna was the last one to walk, her tired limbs, sharp pain in the chest and dizziness slowing her down. She has never ran this much in her entire life like she did today.

„We thought you bailed!” Wilson confronted Anna the second he saw her.

„I brought help,” she told him and kneeled beside Lena. She quickly deleted Dean’s number from Lena’s phone and handed it to her. Lena’s leg was purple and swollen beneath the dressing that Wilson made out of his T- shirt and it was clear Lena must have been crying from pain ever since Anna left them.

„Do you know how to get out of here?” Lena asked and Sam nodded.

„It’s a three, maybe four hour walk on the East,” he said and Anna groaned internally. Firstly, she had no idea if she was able to walk that far and secondly... how the hell did Sam know that?

„Four hour walk?” Lena asked, panicking.

„It’s going to be okay,” Sam told her. „I’ll carry you,” he said placing his bag on the ground. „All you have to do is hold tight, alright?” Lena nodded and Wilson helped her climb on Sam’s back. Dean picked up his brother’s bag from the ground and all of them started walking in the opposite direction.

They all walked in silence, Sam had a half full water bottle in his bag and they all could take a sip. Anna craved more, but she politely passed the bottle to Theresa.

„I guess you’re not a fan of cardio?” she heard Dean ask her. She was staying behind and she could tell he didn’t like it.

„Yeah,” she said trying to keep up with him and he could hear her shallow breaths. The rest was a few steps ahead of them, also tired and sore, but walking.

„What happened?” He asked silently. „You just disappeared!”

„I don’t know, I woke up in that shack, tied to a pipe,” she responded. „Wilson and Lena too. And Gina,” she said and Dean could see her lips tremble. „He brought Theresa later on.”

„And what? My knife came in handy?” He guessed.

„Yeah,” she said. „And then I escaped,” she told him, omitting the details. „He was chasing me... he threw the axe at me and I guess I got lucky. I grabbed it and ran.”

„Alright,” he said asking for a few details. Anna told him everything she remembered, her mind hazy. „Good job, Annie,” he told her, congratulating himself silently for giving her that dumb knife.

Sam and Dean came up with a believeable cover story and Sam explained what to say to the police to Lena, Wilson and Theresa, they repeated it for a few times, just like he told them to. After almost four hours of walking they all walked out of the woods, Dean carrying Lena for the last hour or so. Sam went to put the bags to the car, Anna followed him wanting to sit on the soft leather seat of the Impala. Dean stayed with Lena, Wilson and Teresa for a while, talking to them.

„Sam?” Anna whispered, sitting in the backseat. He turned in his seat and looked at her.

„What’s up?” He asked.

„What do we do now?”

„We have to go back to the motel,” he told her. „Take a shower, check out, grab something to eat, and we’ll drive you to the bus station. Maybe even home, it kinda depends on how you’re feeling” Sam said and that was what Anna was afraid of.

„I can’t go back home,” she told him silently, but strenly. „Wherever you’re going, please take me with you! I can’t go back home, don’t let Dean make me go,” she pleaded him. „I can’t be alone, please!”

„Anna...” Sam started, but Dean opened the door and Sam never finished that sentence.

They did as Sam told her, he and Dean must have had a routine. She heard them argue when she was in the bathroom, but she didn’t know what they were saying. Sam was probably trying to convince Dean not to drive her home. She finally got the courage to leave the bathroom, still in her dirty clothes that smelled like sweat and since then Dean hasn’t said a word to her.

Anna’s hair was still wet after the shower when they parked in front of a fast food restaurant. Dean got out slamming the door behind him so hard that Anna flinched. Then he pulled on her door.

„You’re coming with me,” he said and Anna gulped a little, looking at Sam. He gave her a small smile and Anna got out of the car, her muscle protesting at the sudden motion. Anna followed Dean into the restaurant. They ordered their meals to go and waited for them at a table.

„Sam said you don’t wanna go home,” Dean said and Anna sighed sadly. She didn’t know what to say so she nodded. „Honestly? I couldn’t care less about that, but I’m tired and your house is in freaking Nebraska, and we’re going to Bobby’s now, he lives an hour away so...” Dean inhaled deeply. „I guess he’ll let you crash there.” He told her and Anna smiled softly. „Just for a few nights,” he added. „And then I will drive you home myself.”

A few nights. It was better than nothing.

„Thank you...” she started, but Dean interrupted her.

„I know you saved lives today, I know you got away from the lumberman, but like I said, I’m not going to help you with getting into this mess. And the more time you spend with us, the more likely it is you will start hunting.”

Anna was relieved he let her stay with them. She hoped Bobby – whoever he is – wouldn’t be mad about them bringing her with.

„And I think you should thank Sam for it,” he added. „He made a great sacrifice, you know?” He said and Anna furrowed her brows. „I’m so mad at him for talking me into it that I ordered him a burger with double becon. And he doesn’t eat meat.” He grinned in the worst way possible and went to get their greasy bags with food. She took hers silently and followed him into the car. She knew Dean just wanted the best for her. But they had different definitions of ‘the best’.

The ride was silent. Anna smiled sadly when Sam bit his hamburger and almost spit it out with surprise. Then he glared at Dean, who laughed and turned the volume on the radio. Anna laid her head at the door and was looking out of the window, her eyes closing, eyelids getting heavier with each second. Even the loud music and Dean’s singing didn’t bother her. Maybe that’s why she liked hunting? She didn’t struggle to fall asleep right after it. And there she was, snoring in the Impala, for the second time after a hunt.

„Wake up, Annie!” She heard Dean’s voice as if he was behind a wall. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking and panic started taking over. It was dark and she couldn’t see where she was. She jumped up, realising she’s in the backseat of Dean’s car. She must have slept through a stop at the supermarket because when she looked around and she saw a bag of groceries next to her, a six pack of beer and some clothes.

„Take them with you, they’re yours,” Dean said pointing at the clothes. Anna’s brows furrowed and she took the clothes. There were sweatpants, socks and underwear. Anna stared at the last items for a few seconds. Finally, she tucked them into the pocket of her jacket and tucked the sweatpants under her arm. She got out of the car and looked at her surroundings. She had to admit she was nervous about meeting Bobby. Did he even know she was coming? She was standing in a huge yard full of what looked like old cars and some big machines.

„Hey, Bobby! We’re here!” Sam shouted after opening the door.

„Do you wanna stand there all night?” Dean asked her and she walked to the door hesitantly. He waited for her to come in and then he shut the door behind him, greeting Bobby with a smile.

„And you must be Anna,” the older man said. So yes, he knew she was coming along.

„Good evening,” she said, trying to sound calm.

„If you want tea, it’s in the kitchen,” he told her, and that was it. He turned away and walked into the messy living room, then sat in an armchair. Dean did the same thing. Sam went to the kitchen and Anna followed him.

„Tea?” He asked.

„Please,” she told him, looking around. The kitchen was even more messy than the living room.

„There’s some food in the bag, you can take anything,” he said. „We went to a market while you were sleeping.”

Anna grabbed a pack of chips that was sticking out of the grocery bag and she took a mug from Sam. She couldn’t wait to drink the warm tea, she felt like she was frozen to the bone.

„Thank you,” she said. „Not just for the tea. Dean said you talked him into bringing me here.”

„No problem,” Sam said and smiled at her, taking his own mug of tea from the table. „You can go sit down, I’ll be there soon.” He said and Anna smiled at him. She walked to the living room, where Dean was talking to Bobby about the tulpa hunt. They were drinking what she assumed was whisky. Anna sat on the egde of the couch, not wanting to disturb them. She put the bag of chips and her sweatpants beside her, taking the tea mug in both hands, enjoying the warm feeling.

„Dean said you outsmarted the tulpa,” she heard Bobby’s voice. He was looking at her now.

„I... um... I guess,” she said. Bobby wasn’t very welcoming, but he didn’t seem to be mad she was there. Dean got up, sat beside her, and opened the bag of junk food, putting a handful of chips into his mouth.

„Tulpa’s ain’t fun, good you made it out,” he said and Anna nodded. „Want some?” He asked her, raising the whisky bottle.

„No, thank you, Sam made me tea,” Anna said. „But thank you for letting me stay here,” she told him and took a sip from the mug.

Bobby turned out to be pretty easy to talk to. She told her an awkward story of Dean getting lost in a forest and then he started to telling Dean and Sam, who finally joined them, what he was up to. Anna was listening to them politely sitting on the couch, but she was fighting back the tears of pain, because every muscle in her body hurt. Her feel were swollen and she would do anything to take her shoes off. She suffered like this for an hour or so, the offer to drink whisky was more and more promising, the alcohol could numb her, but she was too nervous to ask.

„Alright,” Bobby said, finally getting up. „Dean, show her your room and the bathroom, I’m going to sleep,” he said.

„My room?” Dean asked. „What for?”

„What do you think, idjit?” Bobby asked, clearly annoyed. „And get yourself a blanket, it’s cold down here,” he told Dean, who apparently had to sleep on the couch. Anna felt bad about this, knowing Dean was sceptical about her being here, but she didn’t say anything, correctly taking Bobby for a person who didn’t like objection. Dean rolled his eyes and started climbing upstairs, not bothering to tell Anna to follow him. Anna stumbled a few times, as there were plenty things standing on the floor of the dark corridor.

„That’s the room,” Dean said opening the door. He stood so close to her that she could smell alcohol in his breath. „The bathroom is over there,” he pointed. „Don’t take long showers, water runs cold quickly.”

„I’ll sleep on the couch,” she told him. „I didn’t mean to cause you any problems...”

„Mhm,” he muttered. „You’ll find clean towels under the sink and here,” he said opening a drawer, „you can take one of my T – shirts.”

„Thanks. And thanks for the clothes you got me,” she said.

„Yeah, I figured you would need them. Sam’s right on the other side of the wall,” he said and Anna nodded. She guessed that meant he didn’t take her offer for switching beds. She watched him grab some things from the drawers.

„Goodnight,” she said before he left the room.

„Night,” he said and she heard him go downstairs.

Anna sighed. Finally she wasn’t alone. Even if it was just for a few days, she felt safer now. She pulled out the silver knife from her backpocket. She forgot to give it back to Dean, but then he never asked for it. She wondered if she could keep it. Anna went to the bathroom. She showered at the motel, but the clothes she wore were disgusting. She needed to wash them in the sink tonight. After the shower, she put on one of Dean’s T – shirts and she laid on the bed, the light still on. She tried to fall asleep, but her heart was racing again. Damn panic attacks. She could hear someone getting into the bathroom, showering, getting out, shutting the door. She knew it was Sam. She closed her eyes, trying to calm down, but her stupid heart was beating like crazy, she was sweating, her breaths were shallow. She knew it was just in her head. There was noone and nothing in the room, she was safe, Sam was right behind the wall, Dean was downstairs, his gun probably tucked behind the waistband of his pants. There was no reason to panic, not nnow. Anna tried to ignore her invasive thoughts, but she couldn’t. She was shaking, the feeling of fear overwhelming. She needed air, or water. She wasn’t sure. Anna got up from the bed, shivering as the thick blanket no longer kept her warm. She quietly opened the door and stumbled a few times before reaching the stairs. She hesitated, not wanting to be caught walking around at night like a creep, but she couldn’t stay in bed. If she only could she would have one of the men check for monsters under it. Anna tried to hold a laugh. Why did she always laugh in moments like that? She needed to be quiet! The light was turned on downstairs and she could see the steps. Stepping carefully on the squeaking steps she made it downstairs, trying to stop herself for smiling. Defence mechanisms... stupid things. Now she had to get passed Dean. She wondered if he was sleeping and couldn’t decide what would be better – if he was or if he wasn’t. He wasn’t. When she walked into the living room she saw him sitting on the couch, a blanket covering his legs. He had a bottle of whisky on the table in front of him, a glass in his hand.

„Looking for something, Annie?” He asked.

„I just came to get some water,” she told him, her voice was barely a whisper because her throat was closing up. Anna hesitated again, but after a few seconds she started slowly walking into the kitchen.

„Above the sink,” she heard him say. She raised her brows in confusion, but opened the cupboard above the sink. Glasses. That’s what he meant. She took a glass, filled it with water and drained it still standing in the kitchen. Anna refilled her glass and walked to the living room, intending to go upstairs. She jumped at the sound of Dean’s glass being roughly put on the table, almost spilling the water. She exhaled slowly.

„Can’t sleep again, huh?” Dean asked, his voice bored, not inviting to a conversation.

„Yeah,” she admitted. „I... I’ve got these sleeping problems,” she said, trying to ignore the ice cold floor under her feet. He nodded in understanding and emptied the glass of whiskey. „Drinking alone?” Anna didn’t know what else to say.

„Well, do you see anyone drinking with me?” He asked. „Wanna join me?”

„Not really,” she responded hesitantly, knowing he was offering her alcohol. She felt sick and she didn’t want to make it worse. „But... do you mind if I sit down?” Anna asked him and he shrugged. She walked up to the couch, wanting to be as close to him as she could. She sat beside him, freezing and she grabbed the blanket with her hand, trying to warm up her fingers. Dean didn’t get the hint and didn’t share the blanket. He looked at her though, expecting her to say something. He could see her bruised wrists, knowing she must have struggled against the restraints in the lumberman’s shack. It wasn’t like Anna didn’t want to talk. She did, he wanted to tell him everything, cry over Gina. He has comforted her a few times before, but this time she needed more than just a few words. She could feel his gaze on her and she shifted uncomfortably.

„Do you want that knife back?” She asked, congratulating herself for saying something.

„Nah, you can keep it for now,” he told her. „Do these hurt?” He asked, looking at her wrists.

„No,” she said honestly. „But everything else does,” she muttered and Dean laughed quietly.

„At least you feel you’re alive, huh?” He said bitterly, not really meaning it. Or maybe meaning it a little, but wanting his pain to go away even if that meant not feeling alive anymore.

„Yeah,” she admitted. „It felt... almost good to save these people,” she told him.

„Almost?” He asked confused.

„I...” she stuttered. „There was this girl... Gina,” Anna said quietly and Dean knew what she meant. He could see how her chest was moving rapidly, her breath way too fast.

„You’re not gonna save them all, that’s what they say,” he told her, taking a sip of whiskey.

„I told her to get away from that door,” Anna whispered. „But she wouldn’t listen.”

„It happens,” he said, trying not to remind himself of all people he failed to save.

„I shouldn’t blame myself,” Anna confessed. „Why do I blame myself?” She gasped and a sob came out of her throat. She didn’t mean only the victims of the lumberman, but her parents, Reese and her dear grandmother.

Dean watched her small frame trembled, he could hear that she was trying to muffle the sobs. Well... Anna had a sensitive soul. He couldn’t imagine her going through anything similar he has already gone through in his life, but he knew what she meant. This pain that was coming out of her in muffled sobs was the pain he felt too. He sat beside her, letting her cry. He thought that nothing he could say or do would make this better.

„I’m sorry,” she said, getting up from the couch after some time. She managed to stop crying and now she felt stupid. After her dumb breakdown she knew he would look at her differently. He’d probably tell Sam and Bobby that she sat beside him in te middle of the night, crying, vulnerable, looking for consolation. The fact he didn’t do anything to comfort her made her feel even worse.

„Don’t be,” he told her quietly, watching her silhouette as she walked towards the stairs. She didn’t look back. He thought she hadn’t heard him. „Goodnight,” he said, but Anna went upstairs, leaving him with his whiskey to drink alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter will be posted in a week :)  
> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos/comments :)  
> ~missafairy


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